


There Are No Problems, As Long As The Result Is Beautiful

by Unknown



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alpha Danny "Danno" Williams, Alpha Kono Kalakaua, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Beta Chin Ho Kelly, Bottom Steve McGarrett, Co-Parenting, Discussion of Infertility, Engagement, Established Relationship, Implied Mpreg, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mpreg, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Steve McGarrett, Planned Pregnancy, Pregnancy, Steve loves being a large overly confident omega, Top Danny "Danno" Williams, Trying For A Baby, and by that i mean i have a need for them to be, because im too lazy to think up my own and he's already there, charlie gets a different origin story, conversations about gender expression freedom, danny is a protective dad, danny thinks its hot and doesnt mind that he's a smol alpha, discussion of miscarriage, gender is a spectrum, grace isn't straight, he's danny and steve's in this, im so sorry, sue him, the boys are dramatic as fuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 03:13:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 37,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15810144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unknown/pseuds/Unknown
Summary: It's the middle of the night when Steve whispers to Danny, "Hey, Danno? You awake?"Now, Steve calls him 'Danno' for three reasons: one, he needs Danny to 'book 'em'; two, he's teasing him; and three, there's something serious he needs to say. They're in bed, so no one's getting booked and they haven't said anything in the past several hours (of Danny going in and out of sleep and Steve being... Steve), so Danny doubts he's getting teased.Which means Steve has something serious to say."Please don't ask me if water is wet to fish. It's too late for that, Steven," Danny says, trying to break the tension he already feels building in himself. Steve snickers, a puff of breath behind Danny's neck."Nah, I was saving that for the morning," Steve responds. And then, "But seriously.""What?" Danny asks, wary."Uh, well. I think..." Steve trails off and Danny hears him take a breath to steel himself. "I want a baby."





	There Are No Problems, As Long As The Result Is Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> This crept up on me and I'm getting nowhere with my SnK fic which FUCK I'm so screwed but anyway. Here's this.
> 
> I... I kinda like A/B/O. Sorry. I've seen all the H5-0 characters in different roles of the statuses, so in all the fics I've read, I've averaged them to my fave sexes for the characters. I don't know if they're most common or whatever, but they're what I like for them. Anyway, bottom/omega Steve is my fucken life, I dunno why I love it so much, and top/alpha Danny is a godsend, so just. Bear with me, okay?
> 
> Talks of infertility and possible future miscarriages are spoken of here, so if that's something you're sensitive to, be warned. There's some sex and usual A/B/O physical sex and bio dynamics, but I'm gonna try to avoid the social stereotypes of 'oh my omegas so soft must be cared for and go into sex hazes' and 'oh alphas so tough and mighty and strong and masculine ho ho must dominate all' kind of things. I think that's part of why I like omega!Steve and alpha!Danny, cos it seems to break what the A/B/O fandom stereotypes have developed into.
> 
> Also, I know Charlie is like Rachel and Danny's but I didn't feel like thinking up name/birth sex for this kid, so I'm stealing him and plopping him in Steve and Danny's laps as though they've been A/B/O all this time in the show, got together in season 1, got domestic through season 4, and then popped the squirt out, ya dig? Swell.
> 
> Title comes from a line that Usami 'Usagi' Akihiko from Junjou Romantica says to his bae, Takahiro Misaki. Um. I do not recommend watching it unless you're familiar with the BL genre cos there's a lot of dubcon and some stuff that I'm like UM DONT DO THAT? But I didn't know this before I started watching it and the main character seems to be okay... Anyway. I thought the line was poignant even though he was just talking about convincing MIsaki's brother to let Misaki continue living with him. Taken out of context and plopped into this context, it's real deep.

It's the middle of the night when Steve whispers to Danny, "Hey, Danno? You awake?"

That really sets Danny’s alarm bells off, because he has a system, ok? Steve calls him 'Danno' for three reasons: one, he needs Danny to 'book 'em'; two, he's teasing him; and three, there's something serious he needs to say. They're in bed, so no one's getting booked and they haven't said anything in the past several hours (of Danny going in and out of sleep and Steve being...  _Steve_ ), so Danny doubts he's getting teased.

Which means Steve has something serious to say.

"Please don't ask me if water is wet to fish. It's too late for that, Steven," Danny says, trying to break the tension he already feels building in himself. Steve snickers, a puff of breath behind Danny's neck. He settles in closer even though it’s _hot_ despite the A/C going and their lack of covers and clothes. Danny can feel the sweat sticky between them where their skin presses together. He loves it.

"Nah, I was saving that for the morning," Steve responds, and Danny can feel Steve smile against his neck. And then, "But seriously."

"What?" Danny asks, wary.

"Uh, well. I think..." Steve trails off and Danny hears him take a breath to steel himself. "I want a baby."

That… had not been what Danny thought Steve was going to say. Actually, Danny had been wondering if Steve was going to ruin _his_ plan that he’s been putting together for _months_ without breathing a word to anyone, but this… Well, he’s not mad, just surprised. He didn’t think Steve wanted kids. Not that Danny is complaining; he loves kids and Grace is still one of the best decisions he had a part in making.

“Yeah?” Danny says. He shimmies around until he’s facing Steve. Even in the dark Steve looks nervous to have said the thought aloud. But he looks Danny straight in the eye, because he’s a fucking SEAL and that’s what he’s been trained to do. “Knock it off, you goof,” Danny says, smiling wide. This is pretty fucking exciting, now that he thinks about it. A baby, made from the two of them? That kid’s gonna be one hell of a riot. “You really wanna try for a baby?”

“Yeah,” Steve says and shrugs with one shoulder. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time and… I want that. I want a little person from the both of us.” He stops and then gapes. “Not that I don’t love Grace!” he blurts. “I love Grace, so much. But… it’s different. I don’t have a birth-bond with her, like you do. And…”

“And what?” Danny prompts, because he can see a sliver of embarrassment on Steve’s face and he wants to know what’s causing it.

“Well, sometimes, you know.” Steve stops and rolls his eyes, then says, “I get a little jealous of you Danno. You get to have this special connection with our daughter that I don’t have because of biology.”

Let it be known that Danny absolutely _loves_ it when Steve calls Grace _their_ daughter, as though she came from the two of them. Yes, yes, his beta ex-wife Rachel technically birthed her, but Steve has acted like nothing _but_ Grace’s other parent since the moment they got together and Danny realized this relationship was going to be serious. Actually, now that he thinks about it, it’s probably _because_ Steve had always been so paternal with Grace that Danny had realized this relationship was going to be serious.

“Grace loves you like you’re her biological, omega parent,” Danny says.

“I know she does,” Steve says. “But… I want more kids. Obviously with you. And it sounds nice to have one that comes from us, right?”

“Yeah, it does,” Danny admits. He pats Steve’s abdomen and snickers. “Though, you’re gonna lose the six-pack for a few months when we finally get it to stick.”

“Worth it,” Steve says with a blinding smile. “So, is that a yes?”

“Babe, with you, there was no chance of it being anything else.”

* * *

So, they plan.

They get their funds in order, move things around in the best spare room they have that’s closest to their bedroom, and start to really plan this thing. It would be nice for Steve to give birth in winter (or whatever the hell Hawaii has that’s the equivalent) since crime is usually down when it’s not tourist season, which would mean they would have less work to do with the Five-O task force. In addition, they go see the alpha/omega OBGYN specialist in downtown Honolulu, just to get a few tips about how to go through the process of conceiving.

It’s pretty straight forward. Steve has to go off his birth control first, which will take about a month to flush from his system, and then he’ll be good to go. They can definitely conceive without Steve going into heat or Danny into rut, but it may take a little longer that way. It’s a little easier _after_ a heat to conceive and obviously prime time for conception _during_ a heat, but they want to start as soon as possible. As it is now, Steve goes into heat about once every three months, which is pretty standard for the average male omega his age and body type. But the specialist warns them that it will take some time, regardless how or when they try, just due to their ages.

“Alpha and omega couples are usually in their child-bearing prime in their twenties and thirties. I know you two are in your thirties, so you should be alright, but you _are_ on the later end,” she says as a precaution. “If you’re having any troubles, don’t hesitate to ask me about them or to come in. That’s what I’m here for.”

“That’s what we’re paying her for, she means,” Danny grumbles when they leave her office. Steve just laughs. Danny really wants to put a baby in him, so he can see that expression 24/7 with an added pregnancy glow.

“You got it, baby,” Steve says, winking at him and slapping his ass as they get into the car. Danny pretends to be scandalized as Steve drives them off, but it dissolves into a smile and cackle.

Fucking Steve.

* * *

Which, actually, yes, Danny loves fucking Steve.

Technically, Steve’s only been off his birth control for two and a half weeks, but they’ve had case after case at work, and both of them have been too tired to have sex lately. So, when Steve actually has a libido when Danny’s in the mood and suggests a roll in the sack, well, hey. It’s been a hot minute since Danny’s had unprotected sex with anyone and maybe, they’ll get lucky. There’s a medium-sized wicker basket full of home pregnancy tests in the bathroom under the sink now. Might as well give Steve an excuse to use one.

It’s different this time, Danny can feel it. He doesn’t really knot Steve out of heat or rut, mostly because it’s a bit harder to, but that’s the best way to keep everything inside of Steve and up their chances of conception. And whenever he has knotted, he’s always known Steve was on birth control, so there were no chances being taken. But there’s no birth control now.

Danny tries to be as gentle as possible pressing his knot into Steve’s not-as-lubricated ass. He had asked Steve if he wanted him to knot and Steve had vigorously shaken his head in the affirmative, so Danny had thrown on as much lube as he could without being ridiculous and gone for it. Omegas don’t self-lubricate out of heat, after all. So many betas don’t realize that. Chin had poked fun at them once when Danny had thrown out an old bottle of lube from his desk in one of the Five-O office bins, joking that maybe Steve was getting on in years if he couldn’t churn out the slick like he used to. It had been harmless, yes, but Kono had coughed a bit and explained that lubrication only happened with omegas in heat and, obviously, people still had sex _out_ of heat.

“Oh, shit,” Chin had said, face red and chagrined. “I had no idea, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made that joke anyway.”

“We’re all close enough that it would have been a funny age joke, if it wasn’t… embarrassingly inaccurate,” Danny had admitted, trying not to make it worse and instead, making it _so_ much more worse.

“It’s fine, Chin,” Steve had said, coming to literally everyone’s rescue. Still, Chin had signed himself up for an A/B/O sensitivity training that was coming up for HPD without anyone dropping hints about it.

“I think I need a refresher,” he had admitted to Kono when she saw. “There’s no reason for me to be the only one in the office making stupid comments due to willful ignorance.” And that had been that.

Fuck, why the hell is Danny thinking of beta Chin Ho Kelly while he’s fucking his boyfriend?

“You ok there, Danno?” Steve says, and there it is, the teasing.

“Just fine, Steven,” Danny responds, finally popping his knot in. Steve inhales sharply and Danny lays them on their sides. “There we go. You good there, soldier?”

“All good, Captain,” Steve replies, laughing. “I don’t think it’s gonna work this time, but hey. Practice makes perfect.”

“We could get lucky?” Danny tries.

“It’ll happen when it happens, Danny,” Steve counters. “We can wait. And we’ll get damn good at it, too.”

“Damn good at what, having sex? I thought we were already damn good at it,” Danny says.

“Well, I am,” Steve replies, and dissolves into laughs at Danny’s affronted grumbles.

Steve waits a week after and isn’t heartbroken when the test comes back negative. He shrugs and gives Danny a smile, then throws the thing away.

“You don’t wanna keep it?” Danny asks. “We can frame it and hang it up somewhere: first McGarrett-Williams Negative Pregnancy Test.”

“Only if you really want to, babe,” Steve says, laughing at him. Danny snorts and takes it out of the trash bin.

“What, you think I won’t?” he says, capping it.

“Danny, that’s gross. I peed on that,” Steve says, making a face.

“Yeah, well, I’ve touched more than just pee from you, thanks. A little urine never hurt anyone. It’s sterile, anyway, right?” he asks.

“You’re something else, Williams,” Steve says, still smiling, but not fighting Danny on it anymore.

“Yes, I am,” Danny says.

* * *

Speaking of sentimentality, Danny’s not the only one who’s got it in spades.

Chin is doing his routine cyber-check of all the 5-0’s goings-on. It’s just to make sure that none of their four members are taking funds without asking or up to any shady business. A recent purchase made by one Lieutenant Commander Steven J. McGarrett catches the beta’s eye, though. He prints a copy of the purchase and walks over to Steve’s office. Danny and Kono are off chasing a lead for their most recent case; contrary to popular belief, the two team alphas have more calmness and self-control in either of themselves than Chin and Steve put together, so they could handle this particular interrogation better. Chin likes to think it’s all John McGarrett’s influence and fault.

He knocks on Steve’s cracked-open door.

Steve doesn’t say anything, just motions with his hand. Chin takes it for the go-ahead it is, and walks in. Steve is flipping through notes from the case, scrawling things down in margins and chewing his lower lip. Chin has enough cousins that he knows what a pregnant person looks like, but then again, he’s thinking of all of them in their second or third trimester. Steve probably just caught it early.

“What’s up Chin?” Steve says, finally looking up. He smiles that bright smile that probably sucker-punched Danny and reeled him in.

“I was about to ask you the same question,” Chin says, and slides the sheet of paper with the purchase receipt printed out on it. A receipt for a tie clip that says, in loopy script: _Congrats New Dad._

“Ah,” Steve says, picking it up. He looks at it with something wistful in his eyes. “It’s not what you think.”

“Oh?” Chin says. He can’t wait to hear this one. “So, you’re _not_ pregnant with Danny Williams’ child?”

“No,” Steve says ruefully. “I’m not. Not yet, anyway. We’re trying for one, though.” He shrugs. “I’m optimistic. He kept the first home pregnancy test we used. Wants to frame it or something. And I got him one of these.”

“Oh,” Chin says. “That’s all, though?” That doesn’t explain the _other_ purchase, this one from Danny’s account.

Steve frowns. “Yeah, why? Find something suspicious?”

“Course not, bro,” Chin says, salvaging the situation. “I thought I might be one of the people ‘in’ on it before you told him, but it seems he already knows seeing as your just doing some family planning.” He casually drops his arms and hides the other receipt behind his back. Steve doesn’t notice, thank goodness.

“Yeah. Hey, do me a favor and don’t tell Danny about the clip or that you know. He wanted to tell you and Kono himself this evening before we headed home,” Steve says, shaking his head. “He’s a sap.”

“Look who’s talking,” Chin says, nodding to the receipt. “Though, I don’t know if you should be encouraging one of his worse habits.”

“What, wearing a tie? C’mon, you gotta admit, at this point it’s endearing.”

“Only to you, Steve.”

He’ll ask Danny about the ring receipt later.

* * *

They officially tell Kono and Chin that evening, since they had gotten the call that morning that Steve’s tests for birth control finally came back negative. It’s all out of his system and they can officially start the baby-making process.

“Congrats,” Kono says. “ _Pomaika`i_ \- I wish you the best of luck.”

“Good for you, brothers,” Chin responds, shaking both their hands. He gives Steve a quick wink at their shared secret. “You gotta let us know when it works out, okay?”

“Definitely,” Danny says, looking at Steve for the OK-GO. Steve nods, a smirk on his face that Chin doesn’t trust. What now? “I mean, we gotta let the kid’s _godparents_ know when there’s finally a kid to godparent.”

“Really?” Chin almost yelps. He hadn’t been expecting _that_. Well done, Steve. Kono claps her hands together in excitement.

“Oh god, this is better than having my own kids!” she yells.

“I dunno,” Danny challenges good-naturedly. “I can’t speak for omegas or betas, but I’ll tell you Kono, alphas like us _love_ our kids once they’re around.”

“Don’t want any of my own, though,” Kono says with a shrug. Danny nods in understanding; he can respect that. Everyone is different, after all, even alphas. “But I’m gonna love the crap out of yours and Steve’s,” she promises.

“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” Steve says. “We know we can rely on you, Kono. You too, Chin.”

“Why’d you have to pair me up with her, though?” Chin jokes. “You know she’s gonna be competitive about being the better godparent.”

“That’s because I _am_ ,” Kono says, joking along with him.

“Hey, we betas may not be as strong as alphas -,” he starts.

“This is fact, yes,” Kono cuts him off with, with a sweet smile on her face.

“- but we’re still pretty cool,” Chin finishes.

“In your dreams, cousin!” Kono argues.

She turns around for support from the soon-to-be parents, but Steve and Danny have already snuck out and try not to laugh too hard as they go home. They’ll let the cousins settle it between themselves.

* * *

Steve goes into heat in a little under two months. They have time to try beforehand. So, they try.

Danny has gotten way better at knotting Steve out of heat, and for once, Steve gets to experience the whole process completely lucid. Danny doesn’t always knot, which is normal for his age, but when he does, it’s nice to just lay around with Steve and talk for an hour or two, uninterrupted until the swelling goes down and he can pull out. He likes holding Steve for once, instead of being the one held. Don’t get him wrong, he loves being the little spoon, but once in a while, it’s nice to jetpack.

After the first three weeks of nothing, Steve cracks.

“Ok, is there something wrong with me?” he asks as the next home test comes back negative.

Danny rolls his eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with you, babe. You heard the overpriced baby doctor: this stuff is harder to do before a heat. After heat it’s easy and _during_ heat it’s even easier to do. Relax. Let’s uh, _practice_ and have fun with it. We can plan their room and start getting furniture in-between, ok?”

Steve lets it go and nods, but Danny can see it’s bothering him. He had thought it would be a bit easier than this, and honestly – not that he’s going to tell Steve – Danny had thought it would be a bit easier too. But they have a month left to wait until Steve goes into heat and triggers Danny’s rut, so they’ll do what they can in the time they have.

They end up painting the baby’s room a soft, ashy purple with a grey trim. The curtains are also grey and while the floor is hardwood, they get a plush, grey throw-carpet so when the little one starts crawling around, they have a comfortable place to start. Steve installs some shelves and fixes up the closet. Neither is too particular about the child’s sex or their future gender, so they keep everything neutral. The crib is another story altogether; Danny is too picky and wants something stylish, while Steve just wants it to be comfortable and safe enough to put a baby in.

They eventually pick something that has both top-notch safety standards and still looks good in the room. The wood is a deep chestnut and shines, while Danny picks cozy, dark grey sheets for the mattress to compliment it. They get all the little things needed for the bed and then a baby-changing station that doubles as a bureau. They leave the toys and such for friends and family to provide.

Grace loves the room.

She comes over for her long weekend with them, since she doesn’t have school that Friday or the Monday after. It’s rare for Danny to get 4 whole days in a row with Grace that aren’t due to holidays that he has to share with Rachel anyway. Steve is just as excited, doubly so when Grace announces that she has a gift for the baby with her in her overnight bag.

Steve laughs, “Honey, I’m not even pregnant yet.”

“ _Well duh_ ,” Grace says with a flick of her hair. Ladies and gentlemen, since when did their 13-year-old get so sassy? “But I wanted my present to be the first one in here for them.” She rummages around in her bag and pulls out an old, slightly ragged but clean … well, it’s definitely a stuffed animal. It’s got a hunched over body like a kangaroo, but the legs of a deer, and the wings of a… bat? Dragon? Its tail is thick where it connects to the backside, then tapers out to an arrow head at the end. And its head, well, it looks like an evil goat-deer, with wicked looking horns and a little felt skull mask resting over it’s eyes and nose. The whole thing is made of russet colored felt, with brown for the hooves, horn, tail tip, and wings. The skull mask is white. Steve isn’t sure what _kind_ of animal it is, or if it even _is_ an animal.

“Uh, Gracie, I love it but… what _is_ it?” Steve asks, smiling as he takes the beat-up thing. The felt it’s made of is soft with age, and Steve can tell that it’s been well-loved. One look at Danny hiding his face behind his hands, though, tells Steve that Danny knows _exactly_ what this is. “Does Daddy have some explaining to do?” Steve says mockingly, shaking the toy at him.

“Yeah, that’s uh, that’s the Jersey Devil,” Danny says, voice muffled from behind his hands. He groans, and Grace laughs her little heart out. Steve can’t stop the smile that comes to his face. “See, Matty thought it would be funny to get my three-year-old a stuffed animal version of the Jersey Devil. My fu- _freak_ ing brother,” Danny mutters, managing to catch himself.

“What’s the Jersey Devil?” Steve says, making a face.

Even Grace looks appalled. “What do you mean what’s the Jersey Devil? It’s, you know,” Danny says, gesturing to the stuffed toy Steve is holding in his hands. “It’s the Jersey Devil.” He waves his hands around, like it should be obvious or something, but he’s literally said not one word of description.

“What, is it some school’s mascot or something?” Steve asks.

“What? No, Steven. It’s a _cryptid_. From New Jersey,” Danny responds.

“A cryptid. From. _New Jersey?_ ” Steve repeats.

“Yeah, Papa, like a monster that people’ve seen in the woods and stuff,” Grace says, whipping out her phone to look up a video. Because of this, she doesn’t see the softness in Steve’s face at what she’s called him. She had been ten and had tugged on his shirt one night when he was helping Danny put her to bed. They had just moved in together, into Steve’s father’s house. Grace had spent the weekend before choosing how she wanted her new room to look, and she was so excited to use it. Danny had run out of the room to get Grace a glass of water in case she woke up for one in the night, and Grace had used his absence to her advantage.

“Hey Uncle Steve?”

“What’s up, Gracie?” he had asked, sitting by her on the bed. She frowned.

“You’re with Daddy now, like Stan is with Mommy, and it doesn’t make sense for me to keep calling you _Uncle_ Steve,” she had responded. Steve had been a bit worried, because she was right, and he hadn’t even thought of that.

“Well, you can just call me Steve, if you want to instead,” Steve had offered. “I promise, I don’t mind.” He minded a little. He liked the _Uncle_ moniker because of the familial connotation and he wanted Grace to see him as family, just like he saw _her_ as family.

“I don’t like that either,” Grace had admitted. “I was thinking though…” She trailed off, looking worried.

“What’s up, sweetheart? You can tell me. I promise, it’s _super_ hard to hurt my feelings,” Steve had said with a wide, warm smile. He tucked some hair behind Grace’s ear, then bopped her on a nose, getting a smile out of her, which had been the point.

“I was wondering if it was okay to call you … _Papa_ ,” Grace had blurted, averting her eyes, and hugging her kangaroo close to her chest. “I call Stan my step-dad at school and stuff, because he’s married to my Mommy. And I could do that with you, but I feel like… like you’re more like my Papa, not my _step_ -dad.”

Steve had felt the tears well in his eyes, but if he started crying, he feared he might scare her. So, he took a deep breath and calmed himself, then gently took her chin in his hand and lifted it up, so she could look at him and see that he wasn’t mad or upset. He had known their dynamic was different than hers and Stan’s; Stan was a beta like her mother, and while Rachel had a birth-bond with her, Stan never would, nor did he have the stronger parental instincts of an alpha or omega. Biology aside, Steve felt like he could really say he loved Grace like his own daughter, something he still isn’t sure Stan could or would say.

“Gracie, baby, I would _love_ it if you called me that instead of Uncle Steve,” Steve had admitted, then he had choked on his own tears as Grace had thrown herself into his arms and hugged him as hard as she could, saying thank you, and that she was really glad he was happy with that, because she was too. Danny had walked in on a tear-fest, with a confused look on his face and a glass of water in hand, but at Steve’s hand-wave, he had correctly assumed they would speak about it later.

And they had, once they went to bed, and it made Danny cry, too. He had always been worried that Step-Stan would win out in the step-parent game, but he shouldn’t have been worried. Grace hadn’t presented yet, but Danny had the strongest and strangest feeling that she wasn’t a beta, which was common in alpha/omega and beta couples: most of the time the a/o side won over. And alphas and omegas were naturally closer to each other, whether in the romantic, platonic, or familial sense. It was why Danny and Steve just felt naturally closer to Kono as opposed to the occasional effort they had to put into being friends with Chin when they first met him.

Steve gets shaken out of his trip down memory lane by Grace sticking her phone in his face to show him a supposed sighting video of the Jersey Devil on Youtube. He snorts as he looks at the video and following pictures, then at the stuffed toy in his hands.

“That doesn’t look anything like this,” he says, shaking the toy. Grace nods. Then he looks at Danny. “People really believe in this thing? I thought New Jersey _was_ the cryptid, you know, of the US, not that it _had_ cryptids.”

“Oh, haha, very funny, Steven. Take a hit at Jersey whenever possible. We’re the punching bag of America, we get it,” Danny says, rolling his eyes. “Grace, how do you even still _have_ that? I’m positive your mother threw that out at least ten times when you were growing up. I thought one of them would have stuck. Is this thing haunted or something?”

She shrugs and flicks through Youtube on her phone, thoroughly engrossed. “I just kept getting it out of the trash and washing it at night, even after you moved out. I think Stan finally told her to give up on throwing it out.” She looks up and smirks. “But I think he only did it to get me to like him. He thinks it’s creepy too, but I love it.”

“Then I’m sure the baby’ll love it too,” Steve says, putting it in the crib. He’s so touched. Grace had gone through a lot of effort and grief as a child in an attempt to keep the wonky toy. And here she was, giving what had probably been her favorite stuffed animal to Steve and Danny, for the half-sibling that she knew she would someday have. “C’mere.” He pulls her into a hug and kisses her forehead when he pulls back. “Thanks, baby.”

“You’re welcome. I want the baby to feel just as protected as I did when I had it,” Grace says with a winning smile. “No monsters will go after you if you have the Jersey Devil sitting on your pillow.”

And Steve can’t really argue with that.

* * *

They have sex several times every night. Danny is glad that it’s never a chore. He might go crazy if it was.

He’s exhausted and laying next to Steve, not able to knot this time. There’s only two weeks until Steve goes into heat. Steve’s only lasts about three days, so it won’t be too crazy to take off from work. Danny’s been thinking of making a week out of it, just take the few days before the cycle is set to start and the few days after it’s set to end. That way, he can make sure Steve has rested enough and that they’ve done all they can in the most potent time in Steve’s cycle. They’d have to wait three months or more for another prime time to come around.

“Hey Danno?” Steve says, sounding breathy and tired, but determined. There’s something guarded about his voice too. Also, _Danno?_ Here we go again.

“What’s up babe?” he asks, scooting closer. He presses his face to the back of Steve’s neck and inhales the scent of sweat and pheromones. Steve always smells the best.

“What if this doesn’t work?” Steve asks, blunt as always. And honestly, Danny had known the lag was bothering him, but he didn’t realize it’s to this extent.

“We will keep trying until someone tells us it’s no use,” Danny says, confident. “And then, if you want, we can adopt a little baby straight from someone’s womb who doesn’t want them, and bond with them, then. There are plenty of people who don’t want the kid they gave birth to and don’t want a birth bond with them. You know that makes it harder for those babies to be adopted since it takes longer for them to trust the adoptive parent.”

“I know,” Steve says, but there’s still something glum in his voice.

“You really want a baby from us, huh?” Danny guesses.

“I mean, if I’m the problem, I wouldn’t say no to having a surrogate carry _your_ baby,” Steve counters. “I really want a baby from you, to be honest. You think Rachel would carry for us?” Steve teases.

“Ugh, no,” Danny says. “I don’t think so. Giving birth is traumatic, and what’s the point of going through something like that if you don’t even get to _keep_ it at the end? Also, I don’t want my ex-wife giving birth to a baby I want to raise with my current partner, you weirdo.”

“We’re already doing that with Grace,” Steve points out, but Danny can hear the smile in his voice.

“Yeah, that’s different. She’s already half-grown.” Steve falls silent, laying on his stomach with his face buried in a pillow. Danny had teased earlier that he knew Steve was doing it in case gravity could help push Danny’s come down his breeding canal, but Steve had fallen silent and Danny had realized that that was _exactly_ what Steve had been thinking. “Steve.”

“Sorry,” Steve says, resurfacing from his pillow smash. “Was just spacing out. We have Gracie this weekend, right?”

“Yeah, cos we won’t be able to have her during your heat cycle, and it might fall on a weekend,” Danny says, even though they had _just_ confirmed this with Rachel not three hours ago. “Talk to me, G.I. Joe. You got that broody military silence hanging over you right now.”

“I just have this bad feeling that this isn’t gonna work, that’s all,” Steve says. His voice is tight and controlled, but it breaks a little toward the end and Danny can feel the layers of disappointment in it.

“Not with that attitude,” Danny says with a snort. He climbs over Steve’s naked back and rolls them to the side so he’s being spooned by Steve now. He knows this is Steve’s favorite position to cuddle in, so he presses their bodies closer and ignores Steve’s grumbling.

_“Danny.”_

“Oh, shut up,” Danny laughs, tugging Steve’s arm’s around him. “We won’t be able to do this for a while once you get really pregnant and huge.” Steve continues grumbling, but settles closer to him, his chin atop Danny’s head. “It’ll happen,” Danny insists. “And when it does, it’s gonna be awesome, ok? So, lighten up, sour patch.”

Steve doesn’t grumble, but he does hold Danny tighter in gratitude, and Danny thinks that maybe he’s finally feeling a bit better.

* * *

A couple days later, Steve cracks.

“I’m gonna get tested,” he says as they lock up the office for the night. Danny slows to a stop and turns around as Steve yanks on the door to make sure he locked it correctly.

“Tested… for what?” Danny asks.

“You know, uh. Infertility,” Steve says quickly. He turns around, lifting a hand to stop Danny from arguing, like Steve knows he will. “Let me just _say_ this, Danny.” So, Danny takes a deep breath, rubs his face, and then flaps a hand for him to go. “Thank you,” Steve says. He sighs. “Okay, so two reasons. One: if we can’t conceive, you _know_ that everyone is going to assume it’s because of me. That’s just how this shit goes, Danny.”

“That’s bullshit,” Danny snaps. So much for letting Steve speak, but Danny has never been good at reigning in his temper. Also, fucking social stigmas and stereotypes against omegas. Danny really wants to wring the neck of whatever alpha thought that was something they should do. “I would _never_ let that slide, and neither would you. You know that. And since when do we care what people think?”

“It’s a stressor that we don’t need!” Steve says. “I know you’d say something, and so would I. But… I don’t want to _have_ to. I don’t want to think that they’re _right_ before I can get myself together and _know_ that they’re wrong.” He shakes his head and sits on the floor outside the office. Danny leans against the wall and slides down to sit next to him. There’s something else in the line of Steve’s shoulders, something else that he’s not telling Danny, not yet anyway.

“Okay, so what’s reason number two?” Danny asks.

Steve sighs. “Reason number two is that I don’t think I can go into this heat not knowing if I can actually conceive or not. I can’t…” He stops, trying to formulate his feelings in a way that Danny will be able to immediately understand. “I don’t think that I can go through the feeling of thinking that we’ll have a baby at the end of my heat just to find out that it was pointless to try, that I would never be able to have one myself. And I guess… I guess not being able to get pregnant before my heat has really made me think about all the ways this could go.”

Danny hates to admit it, but it makes sense. The emotional stress and trauma of trying to get pregnant just to find out afterward that you _can’t_ would be horrid. He’d never want Steve to have to live through that. Danny makes up his mind.

“Okay, then I’m getting tested, too,” he says.

“What? Why?” Steve asks, looking up at him. Danny leans into him, bumping their shoulders.

“Hey, I’m just as old as you are. My sperm count could have dropped since Grace was born, ya know? It’s been over a decade. And it’s only fair; if you’re gonna check, so am I, ok?” Danny says with a shrug. “It’s not all you, Steve. We’re in this together, it takes two.”

Steve has a small smile on his face that’s growing as he gazes at Danny.

“Sounds fair,” Steve says. “Let’s get off the floor though.”

“Yeah, good idea.”

Steve hops up first and helps Danny up, extending a hand down for him to grasp. When he hauls Danny up, Steve pulls him into his arms and kisses him soundly. Danny just goes with it because he’s never been one to deny either of them what they want. They make it home soon after, and the next day, they take the afternoon off to go into their OBGYN’s office and get some testing done. Danny’s tests are a bit easier than Steve’s. He just has to get his knot checked and then give them a _sample_ of his sperm, which had been pretty awkward when the nurse had handed him a cup, showed him to a restroom, and told him to go for it. When Danny had looked at the young man’s face, his eyes had seemed a bit dead inside, and honestly, Danny can’t blame him for that, not when your typical workday consisted of asking people to please come in a cup for science.

Steve, on the other hand, gets blood work and has to give a urine sample, on top of having an ultrasound done. Danny sits with him as their doctor rolls the little wand across Steve’s lower abdomen and looks around at the greyscale images on the screen that look like alien desert landscapes to Danny’s untrained eyes. She points out Steve’s uterus, both his ovaries, their healthy states, and the fact that his ovaries seem to be filled with eggs.

“We’ll have to take a sample to make sure they aren’t sterile, but that’ll be quick,” she says, handing Steve a wipe to clean off the gel. “We’d be happy to give you a local anesthetic, but I do recommend that you go home afterward as there will be some mild stomach cramping after the anesthetic wears off. There may be some discharge from your breeding/birthing canal as well. Don’t worry if there’s mucus or blood; that’s normal. If it doesn’t stop in the next two days, though, come in to see me.”

“Alright, I’ll make sure he goes home and _stays_ home,” Danny says. He gives Steve a stern look. “If the doctor says you need to stay home, then stay home.”

“I’ll be fine, Danno,” Steve says with a laugh. He gets off the table and starts to take off his pants and underwear as the doctor goes to get the anesthetic and scrub up. “You gonna stay in the room with me while she takes her sample?”

“Yes,” Danny says. “You’re my fi-” Danny stops himself, biting his tongue so hard that he tastes blood in his mouth.

“Jeez, did you almost just say ‘friend’?” Steve laughs. “It’s been years since we used _that_ excuse to be around each other.”

“Yeah, haha, sorry, my head’s been everywhere today,” Danny says, rubbing the back of his neck, and going along with it. It’s not what he was going to say, but he lets it go because now is not the time. “You’re my partner and I’m gonna stay with you. It doesn’t sound very comfortable, anyway.”

“Whatever you want,” Steve says, throwing on the johnnie the doctor had left for him. “Just don’t get in her way, please.”

“Yeah, yeah, shut it and lay down.”

The procedure is pretty quick. Steve gets the local anesthetic and lays on his back with his legs spread in stirrups. His breeding/birthing canal and rectum both converge at the anus, so the doctor _does_ have to go in back there. But instead of going _up_ , she goes back, the way Danny’s dick goes when they fuck and _now he’s getting hard in the doctor’s office, the fuck._

Steve looks alright, humoring Danny by letting Danny hold his hand through it. He stares up at the ceiling, seemingly in his own world until the doctor flips down the johnnie over his legs and caps her sample. She hands Steve some napkins to clean himself up from the lube she had used to insert the speculum and tubed tool she had snaked up his birthing canal to reach his uterus and ovaries to collect her sample. Steve cleans up as she discharges him and excuses herself, a pinched look on his face. He’s frowning, clutching his abdomen.

“Let me guess: you’re gonna tell me you’re _not_ starting to get vaguely crampy and achy?” Danny muses. Steve’s still frowning though. “Hey, look, we don’t have to tell anyone at work why you didn’t come in for the rest of the day, if you don’t want to.”

“I just hate missing this much of work when I’m going to have to miss more soon for my heat, that’s all,” Steve says. He rubs his abdomen. “But yeah, in another hour, this is gonna suck.”

“I’ll drop you off at home and be back in a few okay?” Danny says. Steve agrees and then they’re off. He leaves Steve bundled up on the couch with a hot pad across his stomach and some Korean western comedy film on the TV. Work snags his attention for a little longer than he had planned, but he makes it back before dinner and picks them up some Japanese food on the way. When Danny walks in, Steve is dozing on the couch, the TV muted but still playing in the background.

Danny takes a moment to soak Steve’s presence in. Then he smiles and puts the food down, going over to wake him up.

* * *

The results come a week later, with time still to spare before Steve’s heat. They’re both perfectly fine. Neither is sterile, both have healthy sperm and eggs ready for conception, and their doctor has no concerns about any of their results.

Steve sags in relief. Danny feels something unknot in his chest. Well, at least that’s one worry out of the way.

“Better?” Danny asks, pressing a kiss to Steve’s forehead. Steve’s laugh is unrestrained and bright, bubbling right out from his throat.

“Yeah, much better.”

* * *

“If it doesn’t happen tomorrow, it’s gonna happen Tuesday,” Steve says over breakfast on Sunday morning. He’s been distracted all morning, rubbing his lower back and frowning.

“Alrighty,” Danny says with a wide smile. “I’ll call Chin and tell him we won’t be in this week. Kono knows how to file all that paperwork nonsense for official leave and such.” But Steve is still frowning. “What’s with the frowny face, huh? This is what we’ve been waiting for.”

“I feel like there’s a lot of pressure on me, but I’m the only one putting it on myself,” Steve admits, rubbing his face. Danny puts the plate of hash-browns down and walks over to Steve, kneading his knuckles into the tense flesh at the base of Steve’s neck. He rubs his thumbs over the soft, downy hair there that has gone blond with exposure to the sun.

“We’ll be fine,” Danny says. “This time next month, we’ll be fighting over baby names and whether or not either of us is religious enough to get the damn kid baptized.”

“Danny, you barely believe in ghosts and I was born on an island where most predominately white religions are in the vast minority of practice,” Steve says, going for the least threatening of statements in Danny’s sentence.

“Ok, fine, so we’re not fooling anyone on the religious front,” Danny concedes. “You know that wasn’t the point.”

“I know,” Steve admits. “But it’s been almost four months since we started this foray into parenthood and I’m already stressed out and discouraged. I’m sorry – seems like I’m not the best person do get into this with, huh?”

“Steven,” Danny says, pulling out a chair so he can sit next to him and look him in the eye. “If I didn’t already have a child with a third party, I would say that you’re the _only_ person I want to do this with. That being said, you are now officially the only person I want to do this with _again_ , and I’ve already been through the pains of pregnancy and birth, so let me tell you, that’s a big thing. After this is all said and done and we’re holding our own bundle of joy, you’ll get it, trust me. Til then, ya know, _trust_ _me_ ,” Danny says with a smile. “We’re gonna do this and it’s gonna be great. You’re gonna be great. _They’re_ gonna be great.”

“Okay,” Steve says with a smile.

“Okay,” Danny responds.

* * *

Danny really does love Steve in heat, though.

Well, he loves Steve _in general_. Danny sometimes gets scared and a little nauseated at how in love with Steve he is, at how much he loves this one man. Looks aside, because Steve is one of _the most_ beautiful people Danny has ever met – and he works with Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua – Steve has a heart of gold that has been forged in far too much blood. He’s always trying to help someone, to do the right thing, to be the strength for those who are too weak to fight for themselves but are trying nonetheless. Steve’s a fighter, but he’s a lover, too, and as much as he has wrought righteous terror he has also brought so much happiness and comfort. Danny hadn’t really been surprised when Steve had expressed his want of a family of their own; it only made sense that the man who had lost so much would want to find something as beautiful as a family to call his own, to come back to at the end of the day and know everything he had done was really worth it.

Right, but Steve in heat…

Danny still tries to figure out what the hell people mean by a submissive omega, and he thanks his lucky stars that he was raised better than to buy into that bullshit, or else he may have never been able to get with Steve. Steve takes the reins during heat and many of their sexual encounters, though they’ve always been good at communicating what they want at a particular time and how they’d like it. But Danny won’t lie, he loves when Steve’s in heat and just says what he needs and wants, then get down to it once Danny has given his consent. Like right now, for instance, Steve just looks him dead in the eye after pulling off from sucking his dick and says that he really needs to ride Danny right at that moment, while holding onto the headboard for balance. And Danny, well, he can only croak out a _sure babe_ and watch as Steve climbs into his lap, sweaty and flushed from the influx of hormones, and impales himself on Danny’s dick with absolutely zero hesitation. He has one hand braced on Danny’s chest and the other one wrapped around the top edge of the headboard, hand slippery with sweat and grasping tightly to get a firm hold on the wood.

Steve rides him like a cowboy rides an unbroken stallion into that motherfucking western sunset, with guns blazing, no regrets, and a bounty on his head that spans four different counties across the state. And hey, look, Danny’s not religious or anything, as they previously established, but even he’s thanking the heavens that he got lucky enough to be _saddled_ with this man.

Steve comes three times before Danny’s ready to knot, and he practically orders Danny to just do it while they’re in that position, with Steve squatted above him and pumping his hips down onto him. So, Danny obliges and pushes forward, easily sliding in Steve’s second canal, the one literally made for this, and knotting in ten seconds flat. He’s a little dizzy afterward and he comes twice before his ears stop ringing and he’s able to get a clear look at the wonderful man straddling his hips.

Steve’s hair is lanky and damp with sweat, his eyes are sparkling with exertion, and a bright, red flush runs from his cheeks to halfway down his chest, but man does he look pleased with the both of them. He leans forward and presses a soft kiss to Danny’s mouth, the angle pulling Danny’s knot right against Steve’s sweet spot. Steve comes again, with his lips against Danny’s and those sounds up close and personal with him. Danny’s got to be the luckiest man in the world.

“You good?” he asks, like they haven’t done this several times in the past two days. Danny wonders if it’s the military influence or if Steve has always been this way, but their shared heats have always been executed with the utmost control and planning that Danny has ever seen. Sure, before Steve (before _and_ after Rachel, too), Danny had shared heats with other omegas, but none of them had ever been as determined to just do what they had to do, not like Steve. Steve has no shame about being an omega. He knows this is just how nature made him, so he does what he needs to and moves on. And Danny really does feel for the omegas who get so burdened by the social stigmas and stereotypes shoved onto them, those that get so embarrassed and ashamed asking for what their bodies literally need. It’s fucked up, and he’s always been patient and kind and honest with any omega he’s been with that’s had that problem. But he has to admit: Steve has always been more his style, or rather, something Danny never knew he was into, but is so very glad he has had a chance to discover that he is. He really, really is.

“I’m awesome,” Steve says. His body is less feverish than it was yesterday. Day two is always the worst for Steve. His temperature gets so high that Danny wants to dunk him in an ice bath for fear of brain damage, but that’s just how Steve rolls. He gets achy and ill leading up to it, like a terrible flu is setting in and then day one is sexually frustrating for both of them. Steve always finds it hard to come on day one, needing Danny to pay extra care and attention to certain places just so he can get some relief and wipe that pinched look off his face. Danny had panicked the first heat they had shared together, when Steve had actually set-off his rut, something that hadn’t ever happened without both parties trying. Steve had been coolheaded and calmed him down enough to actually get to it, but then Danny had realized that Steve hadn’t come in _hours_ which was the opposite of what heat was supposed to do. Steve had explained that his first day was _weird as fuck_ , but Danny’s rut being triggered had actually helped and the subsequent shared heats afterward had been made a lot easier by it.

 “You _are_ awesome,” Danny says smiling. He sits up, careful not to jostle Steve too much, and grabs the crossword puzzle book sitting on their bedside table. With the click of the pen, he picks up where they last left off. “Okay,” he says. It’ll take at least two hours for his knot to go down enough to come out, and even then, they’ve been letting it sit until it’s pretty much gone to ensure a higher chance of pregnancy. The crosswords are fun, anyway. Both of them like a little mind game once in a while that has nothing to do with work and catching a criminal. The stakes are pretty low too; the worst Steve will do is refuse to tell Danny an answer he knows until Danny rustles around enough to give Steve another orgasm.

“Hit me with it, Danno,” Steve says, in a wonderful mood and with a playful smile on his lips. God, he looks so gorgeous with all those endorphins running through him right now.

“Ok, this is 5-down. The clue is: flares, e.g. Starts with an S, seven letters. Second letter is I, third to last letter is A.” He looks up over the little puzzle book. “Whatcha got?”

“Hmmm,” Steve hums, fingers drumming against Danny’s sternum.

“C’mon, Top Gun, I know you got it in you,” Danny teases, thinking on the answer himself. He knows Steve will get it first.

“Lemme see it,” Steve asks. Danny turns the book around and points to the cell in question. Steve stops drumming and smacks a hand to Danny’s chest. _“Signals!”_

“Hey, it fits,” Danny says with a grin, scribbling it in.

“Why can’t I write it in?” Steve grouses, though not serious. “I figured it out.”

“Yeah, but your handwriting is worse than chicken-scratch, babe. We won’t be able to figure out any of the other words that share letters with something you write down,” Danny teases. Steve flicks him on the nose, but then he leans forward and kisses him. He doesn’t pull away but rather loops his arms around Danny’s neck and leans their foreheads together.

“I really hope this works out,” Steve whispers. He’s not talking about the crossword puzzle.

“I know,” Danny replies, just as soft. “Me, too.” They wait a moment, just breathing in the same air, sharing breaths until they’re both calm again. Steve pulls back with a smile.

“Okay, next one.”

* * *

Nothing. The damn home test comes back negative. _Again._

Steve is staring at the test in his hands. Danny is sitting on the bathroom floor by Steve’s knees, leaning against the man’s legs. They’re both quiet. It’s the fifth test Steve’s tried in as many days, and they had waited a full three weeks before checking. But still, nothing.

“It was supposed to be easy during heat,” Steve finally says. He puts the test on the bathroom sink counter and drops his head in his hands. He’s silent.

“I know,” Danny says.

“Maybe we’re too old,” Steve mumbles, voice muffled by his hands.

“Say again?” Danny asks.

“I said,” Steve replies, looking up, “I think, maybe we’re too old. Maybe it would work if one of us was younger or something.”

“We’ll try until it’s useless, remember?” Danny reminds him. He rubs Steve’s knees, his skin cold from sitting around in nothing but his underwear.

“Can I ask a question without you getting defensive?” Steve says.

“Why would you _say_ that? _Now_ I’m gonna get defensive, c’mon Steve,” Danny gripes.

“Danny, I’m serious,” Steve says.

“Fine, whatever, go.”

“How long did it take you and Rachel to have Grace?” Steve asks. No, it’s not what Danny had been expecting, but it’s also so much worse than he could have thought. Because the answer is not one Steve is going to want to hear, and besides, he’s not with Rachel, he’s with Steve.

“I don’t see how or why that matters since it was 13 years ago,” Danny says, trying to avoid the question without getting caught. It definitely doesn’t work.

“Just answer the question, Danny,” Steve says. “C’mon, it’s not a big deal. How long?”

“Steve, listen, those were different circumstances from a different time,” Danny starts.

“How long?” Steve snaps.

“I don’t know because we weren’t trying!” Danny yells. “Grace was an accident, Steve, a very happy accident, but an _accident_.” He stops himself before he can continue, mostly because of the look on Steve’s face. It’s as close to devastated as he’s ever seen it. “Fuck.”

“So, it _is_ me,” Steve murmurs.

“What? No, Steven, are you even listening? Look at me,” Danny says, and takes Steve’s face into his hands with the gentlest of gestures. Steve’s eyes are hard and glassy, his mouth is turned down in a frown, and his whole face screams _guarded._ Danny shakes his head and presses their foreheads together. When he pulls back, Steve’s face looks cracked open and wounded, but the only person who has hurt him is himself. “Steve, that was over a decade ago. We were both in our primes and no one was on birth control or suppressants. It was an accident, but we had just gotten married and decided to just… keep the pregnancy. It’s not you and it’s not me; it’s just… _life_ , okay?” He lets go and sits back down, taking Steve’s hands into his. “You can’t compare the two, because the situations are so different, babe. We’re doing what we can, and that’s it. We can’t do anything more than that.”

“I apologize,” Steve sighs. He wipes at his face, a stray tear leaking out from the corner of his eye. “I’m just… really frustrated. And really jealous of the fact that you’ve been able to have kids before and now, we can’t.”

“Not yet,” Danny says. “Optimism. C’mon, isn’t it usually the other way around? You’re always telling me to lighten up. What is this sudden role-reversal? I don’t like it, it’s too much work,” Danny teases, winking at Steve. “Hey,” he says nudging at Steve’s knee until the man looks up at him. “I’m with you in this.”

“I know,” Steve admits. “Through everything, that’s the best part.”

* * *

They keep trying. Danny had been telling the truth. He would try with Steve until someone who knew better told them it was best to quit it.

They reach out to their friends, asking for any local or familial advice in conceiving. Kono actually calls her mom between cases and asks if she has any tips, while Chin sits in contemplation. Steve even sends Max an email asking him if he knows anything, which makes Danny cringe and hide his face in embarrassment. Of all people, Steve had to go ask him?

“He has a medical degree!” Steve says in his own defense.

“Yeah, to cut up _dead_ people,” Danny rebuts.

Steve thinks to text Lori out east to see if she has any ideas. All he gets is a phone call that starts with a snort, has a bit in the middle about Lori’s mom eating kale to stimulate her uterus, and ends in a well-wish that carries the added threat of bodily harm if she is not informed the moment they actually _do_ conceive – _especially_ if the kale seems to work. Kono says her omega father and omega or beta aunts and uncles used to bathe in salt water. She swears that it resulted in Kono and her mess of cousins. Chin’s parents have been dead for quite some time, but he claims that one of his mothers had mentioned something about poi?           

“And… what do I _do_ with the poi?” Steve asks.

“I don’t know brah,” Chin says. “Get creative?”

“Uh, not the best advice to a SEAL,” Danny says. “He might get carried away. And then _I’ll_ have to clean up whatever mess that gets us.”

“You could also invest in a plug,” Max says, bursting into their office. Everyone’s crowded around Steve’s desk with cups of tea and mugs of coffee in hand on a rare, quiet day.

“Pull up a seat, Max,” Steve says as Danny hands the man a cup of coffee he had been pouring for himself. “And what do you mean a _plug?”_

“A butt-plug, to be exact,” Max continues, choosing that moment to take a sip of his coffee while everyone else chokes on their chosen beverages.

“Excuse me?” Danny asks dryly, knowing he probably heard correctly but figuring he’d check anyway.

“This coffee is wonderful, Danny. Thank you,” Max says, nodding to Danny. Danny weakly nods back, unsure of what else to do. “Yes, a butt-plug. While it can be quite fun to use for sexual purposes, many omega men have also found it useful in keeping their partners sperm inside of their breeding canal for longer periods of time to facilitate faster conception.”

“Jeez Max,” Kono says, putting her cup of jasmine tea down.

“I was asked for my medical advice, I’ll have you know,” Max responds, clearly miffed. He takes another sip of his coffee. His seat officially stolen, Danny goes over to Steve’s side of the desk and sits in his lap. It’s second nature for Steve to wrap an arm around Danny’s waist to keep him in place, and Danny loops one of his own arms around Steve’s shoulders for support.

“And the best you could come up with is … butt-plugs,” Chin says. He stares at Max for a moment, then shakes his head in disbelief. “Okay. I’ve heard it all.”

“I would recommend that you try it and then report back to me,” Max says, ignoring the naysayers. “I think the endeavor could be quite fruitful.”

“Alright,” Steve says, slowly warming up to the idea. “Butt-plugs, huh?”

“Wonderful,” Danny says.

* * *

Chin finally gets around to asking Danny about the ring receipt.

“You found that, huh?” Danny says, rubbing his chin as he looks at the piece of paper Chin has put in front of him, as if it’s personally offended him.

“You’ve been sitting on that for months,” Chin points out. “I just… was wondering if you needed help with anything.”

“Uh, no. Nope,” Danny says. He sits back in his desk chair and rubs his eyes. “Just waiting.”

“For...?”

“Steve to get pregnant,” Danny admits. “I was trying to figure out how to ask him when he sprung the baby thing on me,” Danny explains. He points to the damn paper, then pokes it with his finger and pushes it away from him. “So then, I thought, okay, I don’t want to put any more pressure on him. Babies _and_ proposals? One thing at a time, cowboy. But… this is taking longer than I thought it would. I just don’t want him to feel like he has to say _yes_ for me to keep wanting to try for a baby, you know? So, I’ll wait til then, and that way, pressure’s off for him to say no if he wants to keep the law out of our relationship.”

“…oh,” Chin says, surprised but also touched that Danny is trusting him with that. It sounds like he had needed to vent. “You okay with all that baby stuff?”

“Yeah, of course. I just don’t like seeing Steve so…” He waves his hands around and makes off gestures with them, as though Chin is supposed to know what the fuck he’s talking about just by those hand movements. It’s endearing and very _Danny_. Chin still doesn’t know what Danny’s trying to say, though. “Defeated, you know?”

“That whole hand waving crap was supposed to mean _defeated?”_ Chin teases, desperately wanting to put a smile on his friend’s face. “Don’t even try to learn ASL. You might poke someone’s eye out, and the last thing a deaf person needs is to also go blind.”

Danny cracks and laughs, and Chin feels a bit relieved. “Hey, if Helen Keller could do it, so can anyone else.”

“Well then, all the power to ya.” He starts to leave, but then turns on his heel to say, “And Danny?”

“Yeah?”

“If you need anything… we’re all right here, you know?” Chin says with a shrug. “In case you forgot. Me, Kono, Max, even Kamekona. We’re here for you two.”

“Yeah,” Danny says with a long sigh. “We know.”

* * *

They get a plug, and Steve isn’t a fan since it doesn’t feel as good as Danny’s knot, but he sucks it up because Danny _really_ can’t knot every time, especially out of heat. They make due with what they have, though, so that’s something. They still have sex almost every day but have put off checking for pregnancy to every two-to-three weeks. The basket of home tests is starting to look empty. They don’t have a bundle of joy to show for it.

“You haven’t told Mary yet?” Danny asks as they lay around in bed after a roll around. He had slipped the plug in as quick but gentle as possible after he had come inside Steve, and now Steve is lounging around on his stomach, head pillowed on his arms and not the actual pillows he’s kicked to the floor.

“No, I haven’t. Or Joe,” Steve says. Danny pictures Steve’s surrogate father and frowns. Joe is so important to both Steve and Mary. Hell, Mary is his actual flesh and blood sister, and he hasn’t told either of them?

“There a reason?” Danny asks.

“I don’t want them to get their hopes up, like everyone else is,” Steve admits.

“Steve, no one is going to be as crushed as you if this doesn’t work out,” Danny reminds him, tone soft and gentle. He doesn’t want to hurt Steve with his words, but he also doesn’t want Steve to imagine that there’s outside pressure for him to conceive. Their friends just want them both to be happy in any way they seem fit; they would never want to put pressure on either of them.

“Danny, I swear to god, if you remind me of that _one more time_ ,” Steve growls into his arms. “I know, alright? I’m just… thinking out loud, can I _not_ do that anymore or something?”

“You can, I’m sorry, I’m just worried about you,” Danny says. “I don’t want you to get any ideas in your head that you _have_ to do this or else someone’s going to be disappointed.”

“ _I’m_ going to be disappointed!” Steve yells, sitting up. Danny sits back in surprise. Steve isn’t one to raise his voice unless pushed and Danny has unwittingly pushed him. “I know I don’t _have_ to do this, but I fucking _want_ to do this, Danno! I want this so, so bad, like I’ve never wanted anything before. And the fact that it doesn’t seem to be working is fucking with my head.”

Two months. It’s been two months since his last heat. He’s due for another one in at least a month, at most in two months. But if nothing happened during the last one, then there’s no guarantee anything will happen during the next one. They both know that. For Steve, the knowledge is torture.

“Fuck this,” Steve curses, and rolls out of bed.

“Babe, where are you going?” Danny calls after him.

“A walk.”

* * *

It’s a little tense after that. They don’t have sex that week, and they have Grace that weekend. Steve comes to bed and Danny leaves to sleep on the couch. He doesn’t want _Steve_ to be on the couch, so he goes because he knows that right now, they’re both going through some shit and need their space. They do what they have to at work, but he knows the others can feel the tension. Danny isn’t too worried though; he knows how they are. This weekend with Grace will force them to interact normally again and they’ll make their way from there.

Grace can tell there’s something up when she comes over. Even Rachel gives them the once over and frowns, a different one from the usual disapproval. This one has concern etched into the corners. Danny waves it off as Steve takes Grace’s bag from her and jogs it up to her room, Grace on his heels and gabbing about her week at school.

“Alright?” Rachel says, arms crossed.

“Yeah, just some shit we’re working through. Nothing bad, just… the baby stuff’s not working out so hot right now,” Danny admits, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away. “We’re not handling it well.”

“Oh, Daniel.” Rachel sighs, actual sympathy on her face. “I’m sorry, dear.”

“We’ll get through it,” Danny says. “Being with Grace is really gonna help though, so thanks for bringing her over early. We appreciate it.” It’s Friday. He’d usually get Grace that night, but Rachel knew him well enough and had heard something in his voice when they had last spoken over the phone, so she had offered to bring Grace over after she got out of school. Danny and Steve had an excuse to go home early and hang out with their favorite person under 20, so everyone really won.

“Alright, well. If you need anything,” Rachel says, turning around to leave.

“He asked me how long it took us to have Grace,” Danny blurts to her retreating back. Rachel stops.

“What did you tell him?”

“The truth: it was an accident,” Danny admits. “Should I have lied? Would that have… helped?”

“No,” Rachel says, turning to face him. “It wouldn’t have helped.”

“Well, at least I did something right,” Danny mutters.

“You’re doing many things right,” Rachel admonishes, in a giving mood. “Watching out for those two up there is one of them.” He nods, and they say their goodbyes. He’s just closing the door when Grace comes racing down the stairs, a shocked look on her young face. Danny’s on red alert.

“Hey, hey, what’s up monkey? What’s wrong?” he asks, kneeling down to her height.

“It’s Papa!” she says, tugging him up and dragging him towards the stairs. That gets Danny moving.

“What about him? Is he okay?”

“I don’t know!” Grace says. “That’s why I went to get you. We dumped my things in my room and went to the nursery. I wanted to see what else you guys did, and it was a bit dusty, so I said I’d get a cleaning rag to wipe the room down and when I got back…” She trails off, hitting the top of the stairs and dragging him down the bedroom hall.

“When you got back _what?”_ Danny asks. She stops outside the nursery.

“He’s crying,” Grace says, her voice dropping to a whisper. Danny finally notices there are tears in her eyes too. “He’s… he’s really, really _sad_ , Danno. What’s going on?”

Danny swallows hard, fighting back his own tears and pulling her into a hug.

“Papa’s going through a hard time right now,” he explains. “How about you give him some space? He’s probably a bit embarrassed you saw that. You run down and get a snack, and you can watch whatever you want on the TV _that is age appropriate_ while I check on him, okay?” She pulls back, wiping her face and looking unsure.

“Is he gonna be okay?” she asks. Danny loves her so much his heart is aching behind his breastbone.

“Yeah, he’s gonna be fine,” Danny promises, because he knows Steve will be, they _both_ will be. “Having you around this weekend is gonna be _so_ helpful, too.”

“Okay,” she says, and there’s already a smile coming back to her face at the prospect of a weekend of pampering and fatherly attention. She runs off down the stairs and Danny waits until he hears the TV turn on to walk over to the cracked-open nursery door.

Steve is standing in front of the crib, his large hands gripping the side railing. His shoulders don’t shake, but they’re stiff, and Danny can hear his breaths rasping harsh in his chest. Steve’s not okay right now, and their little tiff really needs to end. Danny’s over it. He just wants to hold his partner again.

“Steve?” Danny says, announcing himself in the off chance that Steve hadn’t heard him come in. “Can I come over there?” he asks. Danny’s found that it’s always best to voice what he wants to do aloud when Steve gets like this.

“Yeah,” Steve croaks. Danny wants to run over at the sound, but he forces himself to walk over, slow and calm. The last thing he wants to do is overwhelm Steve.

“Hey,” he says, standing beside him. Steve’s arms are strained with how hard he’s gripping that railing. “I’m gonna touch your hand, ok?” Danny says. Steve nods, and Danny reaches over and covers one of Steve’s hands with his own. “Other hand’s gonna go on your lower back,” Danny says. Another nod, and he does it. “Wanna breathe with me, Superman? Even you live off oxygen.”

Steve takes a deep, shaky breath and that’s it, he’s cracking again, because there are tears down his face and he hangs his head and lets them fall. Danny presses his forehead to Steve’s shoulder and lets him have this moment of weakness, lets him shake and just be sad. He needs to get it out, he needs to be able to feel this, so he can get past it.

“Talk to me, babe, tell me what’s on your mind?” Danny murmurs.

“I just – Grace wanted to come in here and I realized that I – I – I was avoiding it,” Steve says, pushing through the sadness and tears. “Ugh, and I just… the dust everywhere. Everything unused for months.” He shakes his head. “That stupid six-word story by Hemingway – _for sale: baby shoes, never worn,_ it just, it just _popped_ into my head, you know? When I looked at this, that’s just the end I saw. Nursery, never used. Family, never had. And I just…”

“Hey, now,” Danny says. “We’re gonna use this nursery. And we already have a family, okay? We’re gonna get through this. I’m sorry, I’m sorry we’ve been fighting and I’m sorry this is harder than we could have ever thought. But I’m here, I’m right here. And I’m not going anywhere.”

Steve nods and finally lets go of the crib railing. Danny is right there to hold onto him and Danny is sobbing, too, because he’s a sympathy crier (and he sympathy vomits, but that’s neither here nor there, and not entirely relevant right now). He has to admit, it’s cathartic. Most of the tension he had been feeling between them is gone by the time they’re just hiccupping on the carpet.

Anything left over disappears when Danny says, “Also, fuck Hemingway. He couldn’t even write.”

Steve laughs until he’s crying again. “There’s a lot of people who would disagree with you about that.”

“Well, they’re wrong,” Danny insists. He uses his shirt to wipe Steve’s tears and snot away. The tears, at least, leave Steve’s face red and blotchy, but they also make his skin seem to glow. Steve is really beautiful. “You’re gorgeous.” Steve laughs and slaps Danny’s hands away. “Hey, no, I’m serious. I’ve missed your face.”

“I’ve missed your face too,” Steve says. He wraps Danny in a hug and holds him close. “Come back to bed. Your side is too empty and I don’t know what to do with all the open mattress space.”

“That’s free real estate,” Danny says, cackling. Steve pulls back and frowns.

“What?”

“It’s… it’s a _meme_ , Steven,” Danny explains.

“What the _hell_ is a meme?”

“Oh my god, I’m telling Grace, she’ll explain it better than I can,” Danny says, standing and then offering Steve his hands to haul him up. He drags him downstairs, calling for Grace and yelling that Steve doesn’t know what memes are, and can she _please_ inform him?

By the time night rolls around, the house is full of smiles again. Danny couldn’t have asked for anything better.

* * *

Steve’s heat decides it’s going to take _four_ months this time, which to be fair, happens often enough. It’s just, both Steve and Danny are a bit sensitive these days and would really rather it come sooner rather than later. But they can’t change the weather and they sure as hell can’t change this, so they sit back and wait for it to show the fuck up already.

“Do we go by the doc’s if it doesn’t work this time around?” Steve asks.

“If that’s what you want,” Danny says. “We’ll figure out what’s up and go from there. For now, though, let’s just wait for your heat to come, alright?”

“Yeah, alright, Danno,” Steve says with an easy smile. Something’s changed in him, but Danny doesn’t know what. He’s just been… warmer lately, not physically, but emotionally. Maybe he’s coming to terms with things, which Danny figures is good. But he doesn’t want Steve giving up on this. It’s only been about seven or eight months since they started all this bullshit. They should try for at least a year. But then, he doesn’t want to push Steve past what the man can handle emotionally. Hell, even Danny’s fraying at the edges and he’s not even the one who’s trying to get his body to cooperate with them.

Steve looks like he needs a moment, rubs his temples, and says he’s going for a swim. He’s been getting headaches recently, but Danny thinks it’s because Steve stresses too much – over work, over the baby-making, over Danny. They’d taken a few days off of work, expecting his heat, but now that they realize it’s not coming yet, Steve just broods around the house unless Danny distracts him or insists he go do something physical. That usually gets Steve out of his funk.

It’s not even an hour later that Steve comes staggering into the house, dripping water all over the kitchen floor. Danny opens his mouth to scold him, but then he sees Steve’s face, and rushes over. Steve’s skin is rosy, and his eyes are glazed over. He looks _off_ somehow, just not right, and it’s freaking Danny out. He catches one of Steve’s hands in his to keep him on balance and realizes that Steve’s whole body is _shaking._

“Steve, what the fuck,” Danny says, voice tight. “What’s wrong? Come here, sit down.” He walks Steve over to the kitchen table and helps him lower into a seat. Steve grips the table and blinks rapidly, trying not to slump over. _“Steve.”_

“I just – I don’t feel good,” Steve stutters out.

“You’re shaking. Tell me what you’re feeling,” Danny says, kneeling in front of him.

“Dizzy, nauseous, _so_ nauseous,” Steve mumbles. “My head _hurts_ , Danno, I can’t – I can’t stop shaking. My heart is – _racing_.” For all his complaints, he seems irrationally calm, which sort of irks Danny. Stupid, unshakable SEAL training. “I think I got heat stroke.” His breathing is dangerously shallow and raspy.

“Okay, don’t move, I’m gonna get something to cool you down,” Danny says. “Hold onto the table so you don’t fall over.” He runs to the fridge and panics for a moment before grabbing a water bottle and a popsicle from the freezer. He rushes back with them both and hands them to Steve. Steve sucks on the popsicle while Danny rolls the cold water bottle on the back of Steve’s neck. Danny isn’t sure if the cold is too sudden or the sugar in the popsicle is too much for Steve’s already-weak stomach, but suddenly, Steve is hurling and vomits up however much of the popsicle he’s eaten along with his breakfast. It spatters the floor and some of Danny, which makes him gag horribly. He turns away and feels his own breakfast crawl up his throat in a sea of acid and barely makes it to the trash bin to spew.

“Danny?” Steve gasps.

“One minute,” Danny retches. “Just – one…” He spits into the bin and wipes the bile from the tip of his nose. Fuck this. “Okay, okay, I’m taking you in to the doctor’s office. Let’s go.”

* * *

In a panic and whirl, Danny drives them to the doctor’s office. He tells the nurses what’s up and they get Steve hooked up to some fluids to start rehydrating him. They want to put him on something else for his pain, when one of the medical assistants from the OBGYN’s down the hall recognizes them and stops the RN from doing anything.

“They’ve been trying for a baby,” he says in explanation. “We need to make sure he’s not pregnant before you give him anything else.”

“He’s not,” Danny says, and it stings, but it’s true.

“He’s right,” the RN says, pulling back. “It’s standard procedure. We still have to check, even if you don’t think he is. We’d hate to have something happen. It’s just a precaution. That’ll take a minute, but we have him on IV fluids, so he’ll be hydrated. Just let my CNAs cool him down while we settle this and get him something to help with the nausea and pain afterward.”

So, Danny lets it go and watches as several people slowly help bring Steve’s temperature down. Steve bears it and the pregnancy conversations in silence. He looks a little drowsy and out of it, anyway, so Danny hopes it’s enough of a buffer to keep him from getting too upset. As it is, _Danny’s_ upset. It wouldn’t do for both of them to be feeling that way. Steve already has enough to deal with.

The RN and MA are taking longer than expected, so they hang out for a while. The CNAs have done their duties and leave them with instructions on how to use the emergency button and the TV remote. Danny puts on some show about cooking in the background and squeezes the life out of Steve’s non-IV hand.

“You’re gonna give me a heart attack one of these days, I just know it,” Danny says, smiling as Steve’s eyes flutter open. He’d been in and out of sleep, but it seems he’s really done napping now.

“Awh, man. You finally figured out my plan. I really just want Winnie to myself,” Steve murmurs back with that stupid, dopey smile on his face.

“That figures, since you don’t even let me drive my own car,” Danny teases. “Also, please don’t call my Camaro _Winnifred_ or any version thereof, like Winnie. I’m gonna kick Sam Hannah’s ass next time I see it,” he mutters. Then he scrunches up his eyebrows in concern. “How you feeling, Human Torch? Not too hot anymore, I hope.”

“I’m always hot,” Steve says with a small laugh. Danny rolls his eyes, waiting for a real answer. “Better. I feel better,” Steve admits. He slowly sits up, accepting Danny’s help and the pillows he rearranges at Steve’s back. “Do you know when I can go home?”

“Not yet,” Danny says, running his fingers through Steve’s hair. It’s getting long and in need of cut, but he knows if he says something, Steve will do something terrible like buzz it _all_ off. “I don’t know why the hell it’s taking them so long to get back to us. We were supposed to get some pain meds into you and something to help with the nausea.”

“I feel better, I swear,” Steve says, squeezing Danny’s hand. “My head still hurts, but I feel so much better. I really think it was the heat.”

“Yeah, what the hell was that about?” Danny asks.

“I … may not have been hydrating well all day. Also… possibly… working myself too hard out in the sun.”

“Steven, you were literally born and raised on a sunny, tropical island. You know better,” he grouses. But then, Danny rolls his eyes and sighs. “I’m just glad you’re okay. We’ll have a story to tell when we go back into work, at least.”

“Is Danny Williams actually trying to see the bright side of things for once?” Steve asks with a fake little gasp.

“Don’t make me smother you,” Danny warns, though there’s no bite to it.

“Hello, gentlemen.” Danny starts and turns to find their RN and OBGYN standing in the doorway to their hospital room.

“Hello,” Danny says, not entirely sure why the latter is here. “Are we finally getting my partner some medication?” he asks, trying not to seem too hopeful. Beside him, Steve snickers.

“I said I’m fine,” Steve insists.

“Yeah, I’d leave that to the professionals if I were you,” Danny counters.

“Unfortunately, we will not be giving Commander McGarrett any medication today,” their OBGYN says. “However, there is good news to go around.”

Danny rolls his eyes. “Lemme guess: he’s gonna live?”

“Well, yes,” she responds with a small smile. “But also: congratulations, gentlemen. Steve, you’re pregnant.”

The room is silent.

“Uh…” Steve says, looking from the RN to the OBGYN and then to Danny. “What.”

“See, that’s not possible because we just checked, like _yesterday_ and it was still a no-go,” Danny says. He feels … sort of numb, actually. This can’t be right, because they checked, they’ve _been_ checking, and it’s always, _always_ been a letdown.

“Well, we used our medical technology _right now_ and found that yes, your partner is indeed pregnant,” their doctor says, a bit of snark in her tone. Danny is too shocked to have an immediate response to that. She nods to the RN, who leaves the room. “One of my assistants is bringing the ultrasound machine over so we can get a good look at who’s in there and how far along you are.”

Steve still hasn’t said anything. His face looks caught between being ecstatic and guarding himself against another, more-crushing disappointment. It seems like Danny is going to do the talking here while Steve processes.

“Um, we’re going to find that hard to believe because every single home test he’s taken has come back negative,” Danny explains. “Like, literally every single one. So this is news to us.”

“That is odd. I know the tests aren’t _always_ accurate, but I’ve never heard of that type of inaccuracy before,” she says. The machine gets wheeled in right after, and then they’re prepping Steve with gel and turning the machine on.

“So… he doesn’t have heatstroke?” Danny asks, starting to get nervous as the doctor swirls the baton in some gel too and presses it to Steve’s abdomen. Steve swallows so hard the click of his dry throat is audible.

“Oh, he does. _And_ he’s very dehydrated. Quite dangerous of you, Commander. But he’s also pregnant, so that exacerbated his symptoms.” She squints at something on the screen faced away from them. “Ah, there we go,” she says. Then she turns the screen toward them.

Suddenly, Danny can’t breathe.

There’s a bean looking thing on the screen. It’s grainy and weird and alien-looking, but it’s there. He hears a wet gasp and turns to see Steve’s eyes filling with tears and blinking them away fast. He swipes at them with IV-stuck hands, but Danny catches them and wipes those tears away himself, even though he’s spouting some too.

“I’d say your around the three-and-a-half-month mark,” their doctor says. Steve chokes and Danny’s right on his heels.

“Excuse me?” Steve says.

“Could you say that again?” Danny asks.

“Yes, about 15 weeks along,” she continues. “That would place your due date around the beginning of January of next year. There’s a very good chance you’ll give birth on the New Year, but we’ll set the tentative date to January 5th. I wouldn’t expect them to come any later than that.”

“But…” Danny almost gives himself whiplash from looking over at Steve so fast. “But we’ve been getting negative tests this whole time,” Steve says. “I… I don’t understand.”

“It sounds like you have a faulty product,” the OBGYN responds. She taps a few buttons and waves an orderly off. “I’d call the company that makes those particular tests if I were you. Until then, you can have these.” The orderly is back with a print that she hands over to Danny, who in turn gives it right over to Steve. It’s the picture of the peanut they’ve made together, and Steve is staring at it so hard, Danny is afraid the piece of paper is going to self-combust with the intensity of it.

“All this time,” he whispers hoarsely. “You’ve been hanging out in there all this time, huh?” Danny places a hand on the back of his neck and squeezes, giving Steve time to process.

“Please, make an appointment with my office for your first check-up in the next two weeks before you leave. There are tests we need to run to make sure everything is as it should be. But for the next few days, please recover Commander McGarrett. I don’t think I need to say that heatstroke isn’t healthy for either you or your pregnancy.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve says, clearly not paying much attention. Danny can’t blame him. It’s what they’ve been waiting for. Neither of them notice when she leaves, closing the door softly behind her.

“Look at that cutie-patootie,” Danny says, wiping at his eyes. “We did that, see? We did that. And it was during your heat. We _are_ fine. We did great, we did great. You did the best though.”

“Yeah,” Steve says, still staring. He strokes a still-shaking finger down the front of the print-out and finally looks up at Danny. Danny is hit with the most blinding smile he’s been faced with in decades. “Danno, we did it. We did it.” Steve is shaking his head and laughing, like he can hardly believe it. “I’m just… I’m – so happy right now?” Steve says, struggling to wrap his mind around it or contain it. “I can’t believe this, but they’re right here. We saw that.”

“We did,” Danny says. He’s feeling all sorts of sappy and soft. He presses a kiss to Steve’s temple and murmurs, “Hey, I love you.”

“I love you too, Danno,” Steve laughs, turning to face him so he could kiss him properly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. You did this. Well, I mean, half of this, but you didn’t give up on me.”

“I would never give up on you, are you crazy?” Danny says. “Besides, we’re gonna make a really cute kid, I guarantee that. You’re gorgeous and I’m rugged. It’ll be the perfect combination.”

Steve goes back to the print-out and he just looks so, so calm and at peace. And maybe that’s what Danny had been noticing in him lately – not that Steve had come to terms with the score of how things were, but that Steve had gotten _pregnant._ God, Danny’s really bad at this. Aren’t alphas supposed to be able to smell these things? Or something?

“I don’t think today can get any better than this,” Steve says, jostling Danny out of his own thoughts. Danny would beg to differ, though. He’s got an ace up his sleeve, a literal surprise in his pocket. He thinks about waiting, but knows that if he does, he’ll never do this in a timely fashion and Chin Ho will make fun of him for the rest of their lives, and for good reason, too.

“Don’t speak too soon,” Danny says, pulling out his little red box. He’d found the ring at a small, family-owned jeweler on the North Shore. The ring itself is rose gold, and there’s a twisting design all around it. Inside the negative spaces of the design are this sparkling, light blue turquoise – not the color, but the stone. The overall design makes the stone look like waves rolling in the rose gold of the ring. It’s one of a kind and Danny had been sending everyone he knew to that particular jeweler. Even Stan had gotten Rachel a necklace from there, made of the same turquoise stone and looking suspiciously like the necklace from _Moana_. But Danny had a feeling that was all Grace’s doing.

“Why’s that?” Steve says, not paying attention. Danny wonders if Steve would want him to get onto one knee, but then he remembers his fucked up knee, and Steve’s laid up in a hospital bed anyway, so fuck that noise. He’ll just do it like this. He flicks open the box, places it on the bed beside Steve’s knee and crosses his legs to wait. Steve has one hand on his lower abdomen, rubbing his stomach, and is staring at the print-out, completely oblivious. Danny pulls his phone out and takes a photo, sending it to Chin with the caption: _He has no idea._ Danny receives a string of exclamation points and expletives in response, along with the message: _I’M TELLING KONO!_ in all caps.

“Steve, wanna do me a favor and look up?” Danny asks through a smile he really can’t fight.

“Hmmm?” Steve hums, finally looking up. Danny has an elbow braced on his knee at the top of his folded leg. He taps the fingers of that arm against his chin, then points with his free hand to the ring in its open box.

“Down there, Mr. SEAL.”

 _“Daniel,”_ Steve breathes, and isn’t that gratifying? Steve _never_ calls him Daniel. Ever. This is either going to be really good, or really, really bad.

“I’ve been sitting on that for a while, if you’re curious,” Danny says, unfolding himself so he can sit forward and lean on the side of the hospital bed. “And I thought, I’ll do it, I swear, just as soon as we close this case. Then we’d close it and I’d go, okay just as soon as we go through another heat. Then that would pass and I’d think, uh shit okay, just as soon as… we have Grace over for the weekend.” Danny stops and laughs at himself. “Yeah. Then finally I said to myself, okay as soon as he gets pregnant. And here we are, babe.”

“Danny,” Steve says softly. He looks up at Danny with wide, liquid eyes, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows hard.

“I’m done waiting for tomorrow, Steve. I should’ve asked you a long time ago, but I kinda suck with timing and then you wanted a baby, so I wanted to put your needs first, because I love you and that’s what I do. But… we did it, we’re living the dream, so I’m gonna be just a tiny bit more selfish while I still can be, and I’m gonna ask you to marry me.” Danny smooths his hair back and laughs at himself. What the hell kind of proposal was this? It had been way more staged the first time he had proposed to someone, to Rachel, but hey, look how that turned out. Maybe this is better. “So, marry me, Steve? We’re sorta doing this all backwards what with dating first, then having a baby, then trying to get engaged. But I don’t care. We got here eventually, and that’s the part that matters. So-”

Danny hadn’t notice that Steve had already grabbed the ring and put it on. But he notices Steve kissing him now, probably to make him stop talking for five seconds.

“Shut up, Danno,” Steve murmurs against Danny’s mouth. Danny can feel his lips curving into a smile. “Of course I’m gonna marry you, you big softie.”

“Yeah?” Danny says, pulling back so he can see Steve’s whole face.

“Yeah,” Steve says, lifting his hand to face level and wiggling his fingers in Danny’s face.

“Hey! I wanted to put that on you,” Danny gripes at seeing the ring already sitting on Steve’s finger.

“Well, I was impatient and you were rambling so I took matters into my own hands and did what needed to be done.”

“What needed to be done? What you done did was ruin _my_ moment, Steve.”

“I’m getting engaged too! This is _our_ moment,” Steve gripes, then stops when he realizes that they’re really bickering over this, because that’s just how they are. He starts to laugh, and Danny can’t help but laugh with him. They’re ridiculous, the pair of them.

“Now you can say it,” Danny says, holding Steve’s hands in his own.

“I don’t think today can get any better than this,” Steve says with a smile.

“No, babe,” Danny responds. “I don’t think it can.”

* * *

The first thing they do when they get home that evening is call Grace.

She has her own phone, so it’s not like Danny needs to go through Rachel or Step-Stan. He calls the moment they walk through the front door and then he puts the call on speaker once he hears the click of Grace picking up.

“Hi, Danno!” she says. There’s a creak in the background, so Danny assumes she’s getting into bed. He peeks at the stove-top clock in the kitchen as he pulls out some leftovers to heat up from the fridge. It’s a little past nine. Thank god Rachel – or oh god, is this _Stan’s_ doing? – is actually enforcing a sane bedtime.

“Hey, monkey,” Danny says. He tosses the phone to Steve and winks as he starts to reheat food. Steve can handle this one. Steve smiles and diverts his attention to the phone.

“Hey, Gracie,” Steve says, breaking out into a smile even though Grace can’t see him. Danny loves that look.

“Hi, Papa!” Grace says, her tone lifting in a note of excitement. “What’s up?”

“Me and Danno have some news to tell you,” Steve says. Danny snorts. Well, that’s one way to do it.

“Really? What?” Grace asks, actually oblivious.

“Well, see, today, I had to go to the hospital,” Steve says. Grace gasps.

 _“What?”_ she yelps. Danny can hear the bed creaking as he assumes she shoots up into a sitting position. “Are you ok? Did something happen at work?”

“Hey, Grace, I’m fine,” Steve says, regret coloring his tone. “I was in the sun too long without water and got heatstroke,” Steve says. “I was sun sick, baby.”

“Oh,” Grace says on a sigh of relief. “That was dumb of you.”

“Yeah, it was,” Steve chuckles.

“Be nice to your father,” Danny quips in the background.

“I _am_ ,” Grace insists.

“Attitude, monkey,” Danny says.

“Anyway,” Steve cuts in with an ugly look at Danny. Well excuse him for actually parenting and making sure their daughter has manners. “We found something else out at the doctor’s.”

“What is it?” Grace says. She’s excited now, so Danny thinks she has an idea but wants to hear it from them.

“I’m having a baby, sweetheart,” Steve laughs into the phone in complete joy.

 _“Really?”_ Grace yells.

“Whoa, bring down the volume to like _five_ , kiddo,” Danny says. “But yes, really. You’re getting a little sibling.”

“And,” Steve adds, twirling his ring on his finger. Danny nods in excitement. “We’re getting married.”

 _“You’re finally getting married?”_ Grace shouts. “That’s _awesome!”_

“What’s with this ‘finally’ business?” Danny says, miffed. Steve laughs. “I took my time because all the best things take time. And also, Steve, you could have asked sooner instead if that was what you wanted. There are no rules saying I have to ask.” Steve is about to speak when Grace chimes in.

“I have news, too!” Grace says, which catches both her fathers off-guard.

“Oh, yeah?” Steve says, brow crumpling into a frown.  Danny brings their plates to the table and sits with him, a matching frown on his face.

“Yeah!” Grace says, but she’s still excited, so it can’t be that bad. “I presented!”

Danny chokes on his first forkful of food and gasps, “You _what?”_

“Sweetheart, that’s wonderful,” Steve says, giving Danny a look that means _shut the fuck up and let her finish._ “What’s the verdict?”

“I’m officially an alpha,” Grace says proudly, and Danny silently whoops and punches a fist up into the air in victory. Take _that_ Step-Stan. Last time it had come up in adult discussion, Stan had scoffed and insisted that Grace had all the makings of a beta. Danny had asked what he meant, and Stan had simply spouted stereotypes of the beta status while Danny had looked on in clear irritation. Rachel had sighed so long and deep, Danny had been surprised she hadn’t passed out from lack of oxygen.

“That’s awesome, monkey!” Danny jumps in with. “When did that happen?”

“Like, half an hour ago in the shower. I told mom and she said we’d go into the doctor’s office in the morning to make sure everything is where it’s supposed to be and register my new sex-status,” Grace says. Danny is impressed at her calmness; for those already with a penis, presenting consisted of getting stupidly horny out of nowhere and then popping a knot that lasted all of ten seconds. Of course, the knot glans stayed after the knot deflated. For those born _without_ penises, however, a slit right above the clitoris usually covered by pubic hair opened up and released a just-about-to-hit puberty penis… _and then_ you got stupidly horny and popped a knot. One of Danny’s sister’s is an alpha and had _freaked out_ when she suddenly sprouted a penis at 14 years-old, showering at a friend’s house during a sleepover. That had been one interesting call for him to pick her up from the party.

“You feeling okay, though?” Danny asks, pushing a plate of food at Steve.

“Uh huh,” Grace says. “It was a little scary before I realized that all of that is _supposed_ to happen to alphas.”

“Well, that’s a very positive way to look at it,” Steve praises. “Congratulations on presenting, Grace.”

“Thanks, Papa. Congrats on the baby and getting married!” she squeals. “Do you think I can come over this weekend instead of next?” she asks, voice full of hope.

“You’ll have to ask your mom, honey,” Danny says, but he hopes she can come over sooner rather than later, and maybe he can convince Rachel to let her go with them to the first official check-in and sonogram appointment. It’s important, Danny thinks, that Grace gets this kind of interaction and involvement in her new sibling’s life. Danny and Steve don’t want her to feel left out or like she’s being replaced, and while both sincerely doubt that Grace would ever interpret it that way, they still want to do all they can to avoid that.

“Okay, I’ll ask. But if she says yes?” Grace asks.

“Of course you can come,” Steve says with a snort. “This is your home too, baby. Me and Danno always want you here, whenever you want, got that?”

“Got it,” she says, then breaks off into a yawn.

“Yes, that’s right! _Someone_ has school tomorrow,” Danny says. “And it’s not us. Nope. We’re done with all that algebra and whatever else they’re teaching kids these days.”

“Bed sounds like a good idea,” Steve says. “Goodnight, Captain Grace.”

“Goodnight,” Grace says, stifling another yawn. “I love you.”

“We love you too,” Danny says.

“We love you so much,” Steve adds. She mumbles a goodbye, already half-asleep, and then hangs up. Danny and Steve stare at the phone, then at each other.

“So, was I right or was I right? Huh?” Danny says, nudging him gently with his elbow as they eat.

“Yeah, yeah, you called it. So, what about the next one, then, Oh Mighty Sex-Status Whisperer?”                                                                                                          

“Hmmm, I dunno,” Danny says, pretending to mull it over. “Too early to tell.”

“Oh, yeah?” Steve says.

“Yeah. I’ll let you know when I do, though,” Danny teases.

“Oh, I’m sure you will.”

* * *

The next morning, they call the company number on the back of the home pregnancy test box. Danny had been too lazy to recycle it when they had first opened it almost 8 months ago, and now he’s grateful. They have the serial number for the batch they had bought at the pharmacy. A kind voice answers the number and they have to get patched through to customer service and wait half an hour before they actually get to speak to someone who knows anything.

“My fiancé and I were wondering if you knew about any recalls for your home pregnancy tests?” Danny asks as Steve putters around, making tea. He had never been one for coffee, not like Danny, and Danny is grateful that he’ll be able to keep drinking it through Steve’s pregnancy. Rachel had made him give it up with her when she had been pregnant with Grace, and a caffeine deprived detective was no one’s friend.

“Do you have the serial number, sir?” the woman on the line says.

“I do,” Danny answers, and rattles it off for her. He hears the keyboard click as she types it in. “We uh, bought a whole box.”

“How did that work out for you?” she says, mildly distracted by her search.

“Well, my fiancé is pregnant, so pretty well, thanks,” Danny responds, a wide smile on his face. He winks at Steve when he sees him roll his eyes.

“Ah, here it is,” she says, and Danny listens. “Oh, my.”

“What?”

“I guess you’re calling because none of those tests worked,” she answers.

“How do you know?”

“It seems that there was some kind of malfunction in the machines we use to make those tests and the chemical that reacts positively to the pregnancy hormone in urine was never applied to that, as well as several other, shipments.”

Danny blinks. “So, they were all… duds?”

“It seems so, sir. I am terribly sorry. The company can issue a refund for the shipment that you purchased,” she says, already typing in the information.

Danny covers his phone’s receiving end and says, “Hey, Steve. You wanna refund for the tests?”

“Nah,” Steve says with a shrug. “Not a big deal.”

“Yeah, we don’t need a refund,” Danny says.

“It’s company policy, I’m sorry,” she responds. Danny guesses she’ll get in trouble if they find out, so he just agrees and gives her his info to save her the trouble. Steve gives him an odd look and he waves it off, mouthing, _company policy._ Steve nods. They’ll just give the money to Grace as her _I-finally-hit-puberty_ present. Once he finishes, he hangs up and laughs.

“So, I’m guessing there _was_ something wrong with them?” Steve says, sitting beside him.

“Yeah,” Danny says. “None of them had the chemical that was supposed to react with a positive test. So none of them would have shown you were pregnant, even if you peed on them now.”

“Fuck, really?” Steve says, laughing into his cup. “That’s hysterical. Technology, man, am I right?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“So, even if I was pregnant the first time we tried the tests, it wouldn’t have worked?” Steve asks. Danny nods. “Then does that even count, really, as our first negative test?”

“Well, yeah,” Danny argues. “I mean, you weren’t pregnant at the time. We know you got pregnant during your heat cos of how far along you are. So it totally counts, regardless of whether or not it would have been able to tell us you were pregnant _now._ ” Steve shakes his head but leaves it alone. “Which reminds me.”

Danny gets up and leaves the room, coming back a moment later with a bag and a box in hand. Steve laughs and reaches under the kitchen table, a gift bag stashed away too. They stare at each other a moment and then Danny joins in on Steve’s laughter. How perfect was that?

“Great minds, eh?” Danny says, sitting down. “Who goes first?”

“How about we take turns?” Steve suggests. “I open the small one, then you open yours, then I open the big one. Which, hey, no fair. Why two?”

“One is needed for the other, so it’s technically one present,” Danny says with a shrug. “And you need to open the small one first anyway, so here we go.” He hands the small gift bag over to Steve, and Steve yanks out the tissue paper and pulls out a little box. He opens it and laughs. “I did research and none of those have been recalled, so we should be good.”

It’s a home pregnancy test of a different brand.

“You really want me to go pee on this, don’t you?” Steve asks, trying not to laugh and failing.

“Yes,” Danny admits with absolutely no shame whatsoever. “Go on, then.” But Steve obliges and gets up, heading to the bathroom. It takes a few minutes, but he comes back laughing, the pregnancy-test stick wrapped in toilet paper.

“Here, you weirdo,” Steve says, handing it to him.

Danny grins wide at the positive sign on this one, reveling in the happiness that hits him.

“Okay, give me two minutes with your actual gift,” he says, and disappears. Steve is able to finish his tea in the time it takes Danny to do whatever the hell he’s doing. He answers congratulatory texts from Kono and Chin, then washes his teacup. When he turns around, Danny is standing there with the box back on the table.

“You good now?” Steve asks.

“I’m always good when you’re around,” Danny says. “Okay, let’s see what you got me.” He makes grabby hands at his gift and Steve laughs and lops it at his head. Danny catches it and opens it, pulling out a little cardboard gift box that he opens. He gives Steve that sweet, lopsided grin with his lips pressed and pulled together.

“This has got to be the sweetest tie-clip anyone’s ever got me,” Danny says, pulling out the silver clip and stroking a thumb over the _Congrats New Dad_ engraved on it. On the flip side, his and Steve’s names have been engraved as well. There’s a blank space near them for the date they found out.

“I’ll send that in to the jewelers near the office,” Steve says. “Tell them to put yesterday’s date on it.”

“That’s actually very sweet, Steve,” Danny says rubbing at one eye.

“Awh, babe, don’t go crying on me. Not yet, anyway. Let me open my present first, and then you can cry.”

“I probably will,” Danny says with a shrug, pushing the box over. Steve rolls his eyes and opens it anyway.

He’s not expecting the box-frame, but he dutifully pulls it out to take a look at the contents behind the glass. Steve immediately chokes up. On one side, backed by a corkboard, is the first pregnancy test he took with the date labeled underneath. _First Negative McGarrett-Williams Pregnancy Test_ is neatly scrawled under it. There’s a white border between the corkboard that splits it in half. On the other side is the test that Steve just peed on, the positive pink plus sign bright against the white backing. The date is also under it, along with _First Positive McGarrett-Williams Pregnancy Test_ scrawled under it. In the foreground is the photo Danny had asked one of the nurses to take in the hospital yesterday after they had gotten engaged. Steve is hooked up to an IV drip, but the ring sparkles on his finger and he’s got the most lovestruck look on his face as he gazes at Danny, completely ignoring the photo being taken. Danny is in no better a state, dreamy-eyed with a hand splayed on Steve’s belly as he leans close, their foreheads pressed together on the side. Danny had handed the nurse his phone and told the young man to just take a photo whenever he wanted. Steve wants to give the guy a high-five and submit his work into the nearest photography contest accepting submissions.

“Fuck you,” Steve murmurs, wiping at his face.

“I told you I was gonna frame it,” Danny says.

“Jesus, Danno. This is beautiful. You did this in a day?”

“Well, I started it right after the first test you took,” Danny admits, rosy cheeked and pleased with himself. “Then I set everything else up and waited until something stuck. Not that hard, babe.”

“I love it.”

“And I love this, thank you,” Danny says. “I’m wearing this to work for the rest of my life.”

“What happens when we have more kids?” Steve says, not really thinking of the implications of his words. Danny freezes, ecstatic hope in his eyes.

“You want more?”

“Hell yes,” Steve says without any hesitation. “We’ve only got two kids, Danny, and we don’t even get one fulltime. I definitely want more.”

Danny stares at him for a moment, then cups Steve’s face in both hands, and kisses him soundly. Steve holds onto his shirt to ground himself and when Danny finally pulls back, both of them are out of breath. Danny leans their foreheads together and presses a few more soft, closed-mouthed kisses to Steve’s lips, then just hovers for a moment.

“What was that for?” Steve asks.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so in love with you as I am now. And let me tell you, I’ve never been in love with anyone like I am with you, so that’s fucking _saying_ something, Steven,” Danny says. “Holy shit, I love you.”

“Love you, too,” Steve says, grinning shyly. For some reason, he’s really pleased with himself right now.

“C’mon,” Danny says, helping Steve up, even though he doesn’t need to, not yet. “Let’s find somewhere to hang this thing up, and then we can just vege out for the rest of the day. Sound like a plan?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Steve agrees, and intertwines their fingers together as Danny grabs the box-frame and starts looking for a good space of wall to hang it up on.

* * *

When they return to work, it’s to Chin and Kono yelling their congratulations with a cake shaped like a binky on the table behind them. Max is sitting in a chair at the table with a party hat on his head that’s falling to the side.

Steve shoves a finger into the frosting because he’s a heathen and moans, “Mmm, buttercream. That’s my favorite.”

“We know,” Chin chuckles. He nods to Danny. “Your man made sure to okay the cake order. Now, let’s see that sonogram picture and the ring!”

The next hour is spent passing the photo around and fawning over the ring on Steve’s finger. Kono congratulates Danny on his good jewelry taste and gets the name of the shop, while Max stares at the sonogram photo and then correctly deduces how far along Steve is as well as his estimated due date.

“However,” Max says, taking another bite of cake. He points to Steve’s softening abdomen with his dirty fork. “I am willing to bet that you will go into labor on the night of the 31st of December and give birth just after midnight on the 1st of the New Year.”

“You really wanna make that bet?” Chin asks, already reaching for his wallet. He checks it. “I have $50 that says he gives birth either a few days before or a few after Christmas, but before the New Year.”

“I want in!” Kono says. “I got $50 on him giving birth on the _actual_ due date.”

“I’m glad you’re all having fun with this,” Danny says, just as Steve raises a hand.

“I’ve got $50 that says you’re _all_ wrong and I have to have a C-section in the morning on the 1 st,” Steve counters.

“Really Steven, you’re betting on your own due date?” Danny gripes. “Why am I even surprised?”

“Cesarean sections are only done when there is no other safe alternative,” Max says, as though reading from a text-book. “You are in healthy shape and the fetus looks that way as well. Judging on your general good health and that you stay fit, I don’t see how a C-section will be necessary. But, you are on.”

Danny becomes the holder of the money. There’s $200 riding on this. Everyone had cajoled him into putting money in the betting pool but Danny had waved them off, claiming he wasn’t a gambler, unlike _some_ people.

“You really think you’re gonna need a C-section?” Danny asks over his cake.

“I just got this feeling. Mary and I were _both_ C-section babies, and so were my parents. I don’t see this going any other way.”

“Huh,” Danny says, contemplative.

“Okay, next bet is up,” Kono announces. “Boy or girl?”

Both Danny and Steve groan.

* * *

They decide not to know the baby’s sex. Everyone gets even more excited that the wait means _all_ the pot money will be released on one day, possibly to the same person. Chin and Kono both have their money on a girl, Max refused to participate in this one as he says he can already tell based on the last sonogram photo, so it wouldn’t be fair, and Danny is still not betting on his own kids, thanks very much. Steve shrugs and says he’ll go for boy, mostly because his mother had a son first, but also he doesn’t really care and it wouldn’t be interesting if he just said girl too.

“That shit’s not permanent anyway,” Steve had qualified when Danny had grumbled about this new bet.

Steve is starting to soften and go round through month four, and by month five his stomach can be seen through his shirts, which he’s had to buy new ones for. He’s taken to wearing hideous and bright Hawaiian shirts because they give him room and are breathable. Kamekona is the worst culprit when it comes to those. He’s always finding new, ugly shirts and gifting them to Steve. He’s also hopped into the betting pool, saying Steve is going to give birth _after_ his official January 5 th due date. He also refuses to participate in the baby’s sex bet.

“I have a sixth sense for those things,” he had said. “My neighborhood used to call me the Baby Whisperer, brah. It just wouldn’t be fair.”

By month sixth, Kono has to bring in the special ordered bullet-proof vests that’ll stretch and fit around Steve’s stomach.

“After the six-month mark, you can’t go on field ops,” Kono says with a wince. “I’m sorry, we just don’t have vests that’ll fit you, Steve. And it can’t be _safe_ , you know?”

“Yeah, brah, think about the baby,” Chin says.

Steve tries not to look murderous, because every time he makes a tiny error, Danny turns on him with the _think about the baby_ line and it’s driving Steve nuts. Yes, he knows he has to tone it down with the heroics, but having a second cup of caffeinated tea _one time_ isn’t going to destroy anything. He thinks about the baby _plenty_.

“Okay, you know what, if it’s such a hassle, how about I just stay in this time, huh? Is that what everyone wants?” Steve snipes.

“Well, no-” Kono starts, just to be cut off by Danny, who says, “Yes, actually, what a good idea.”

“Danny,” Chin says, exasperated.

But Steve’s already made up his mind, he’s not going on this particular op, the rest of them can go fuck off. He’ll just hang out with Max and their latest vic in the morgue. At least Max keeps his favorite flavor of pudding cups down there for him. Danny had almost taken one last time they had visited, and Max had offered, but then he saw that they were being kept in the same freezers that the bodies go in, so he had declined. Steve had laughed at him and not taken it to heart when Danny had called him morbid. The pudding had been extra delicious.

“Don’t get upset,” Kono says, the last of them to file out. “We all just want you and that baby to be as safe as possible, okay? I apologize for all of us if we’re getting overbearing. But you’re almost there.”

“Three more months of this is almost there?” Steve says with a groan. “Tell me that when they’re out.” But he smiles and squeezes her hand. “Hey, I’ll be fine. I’m just getting bigger and not fitting in anything and trying to work through all the conflicting hormones.”

“Okay,” Kono says.

“Oh, hey Kono?”

“Yeah?”

“If you see Adam soon, tell him he’s invited to the wedding and that I say hi,” Steve says. She chuckles and shakes her head.

“Yeah, I’ll tell him that when we finally get invites ourselves,” she says, and leaves, still laughing.

He and Danny really do need to work out when they’re getting married. But between work and the baby, they just haven’t had time to sit down and hash it out. Steve heads to his office to grab some notes and head down to Max’s when his phone goes off. He looks at it and frowns.

“Rachel? Everything okay?”

“Yes, hello, Steve. I hate to be a bother when I know both you and Danny are working, but I couldn’t get ahold of Danny and Grace needs to be picked up from school. Both Stan and I are caught at work, so if one of you wouldn’t mind…”

“Oh, yeah, that’s fine,” Steve says, grabbing his keys and heading out. “Danny went on a raid, so I’ll go grab her.”

“Yes, thank you,” she sighs. “I appreciate it.” There’s an awkward silence where Steve wants to hang up, but then Rachel starts talking again. “How are you feeling?”

The last thing Steve wants to do is share about his pregnancy with his fiancé’s ex-wife, but she’s nice enough to ask, so he responds, “I’m okay. Starting to get back-aches, though.”

“You’re around six months along now, yes?”

“Yeah, a little over actually,” Steve corrects, getting into his car. He doesn’t drive off, not yet. He has time before Grace gets out and her school isn’t too far from HQ. Also, he really hates driving and being on the phone unless it’s for a case.

“Wonderful,” Rachel says, and she sounds like she means it. That, at least, Steve can appreciate. “I was achy everywhere when I was pregnant with Grace. Oh, and the nausea wouldn’t _end_. I was five months pregnant and still throwing up. Of course, the first time around, it was gone by month three, but of course I had no luck with Gr-”

“Wait, the first time around?” Steve says, frowning. “You were pregnant before?” There’s silence on the line, as though Rachel has just realized she has made such a big mistake. “I thought Grace was an accident.”

“Oh, she was,” Rachel assures him. “She just… wasn’t the first accident.”

“What happened the first time?” Steve asks, suddenly nervous. His free hand tightens on the steering wheel.

“Steve, this isn’t something we should be talking about. We should be talking about how wonderful this baby is and how Grace is so very excited to be a big sister. Honestly, it was my fault-”

 _“What happened?”_ Steve insists. He _knows_. He hadn’t even thought about it before now, but he knows, and he knows the risks and _he is so stupid._

“I – I had a miscarriage, Steve,” Rachel says haltingly. “But, this was before Danny and I were even married, and I was under a lot of stress. We weren’t sure we should even keep it but-”

“But then the decision was made for you by nature,” Steve intones, feeling numb. His hand drops to his lower abdomen. “Sorry, Rachel. I need to hang up. I’ll be late to grab Grace if I don’t leave now. We’ll drop her off after dinner tonight.”

“Steve,” she starts but Steve hangs up and tosses his phone onto the seat next to him. He drives and tries not to think.

But he thinks.

* * *

“Papa!” Grace yells when she sees him pull up. She runs over to his truck and climbs in, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I didn’t know you were coming to get me today.”

“Your mom and Stan got tied up at work,” Steve explains, a weak smile on his face. He hugs her close and just breathes for a minute. He needs to calm down so he can drive them home safe. He had texted Danny that he was heading home early and got the OK-GO, though he could feel it through the phone, that Danny had suspected _something_. “Got homework?” Steve says, terrible thoughts going through his mind as he pulls away from Grace and starts heading home.

“Just a bit for my algebra and literacy classes,” Grace says. “I also have this book to read for my _Accelerated Reader_ thing in English.” He looks over quick and sees her holding up _The Hobbit_. “I don’t know if I’m going to like it though.”

“I read that when I was your age,” Steve says, trying to think of those memories instead. He swallows thickly. “I thought it was fun, but it ends quickly and gets sad at the end.”

“Hmmm,” Grace says, and Steve thinks she’s contemplating the book, but when he looks over again, her eyes are on him and she’s frowning. “Are you ok?”

Steve pulls into the driveway and kills the engine. “Yeah, sweetheart, I’ll be okay. C’mon.” They walk into the house and Steve realizes he’s going to break down. The last time he had done that in front of Grace, he had frightened her and embarrassed himself. Steve really doesn’t want a repeat. “Hey Gracie? I need to lay down for a minute. Do your homework and come get me in an hour or when you’re done, whichever comes first. Ok?”

She nods and lets him go upstairs, but there’s still a frown on her face, like she knows something isn’t right.

Steve makes it to their bedroom before he loses it a bit.

He sits on the edge of the bed, hard, and curls around his belly and cries. There’s an icy cold fear licking its way down his spine that he too will lose this, like he’s lost so much else. His father, his mother – wherever the hell she is these days – and he never sees his sister. He can’t lose this too, knows he has no reason to think he will, but Rachel just talking about it and mentioning the _stress_ …

What’s more stressful than being in the Five-O task force?

“Papa?”

Steve wipes his face on his shirt and looks up at Grace peeking around the door. Her face is scrunched up and she’s got a look of intense focus on her face that Steve thinks is probably concern. He waves her in and she scurries over and wraps her skinny, little arms around his neck and hugs him. His stomach isn’t _too_ big yet that hugging is an extreme sport, so Steve takes advantage of being able to still hug his daughter like this.

“Thank you,” Steve murmurs against her head as he presses a kiss to it. “What made you come up here?”

“You looked sad in the car and you smelled sad when we got home. And _I know_ that scents are supposed to be private and personal, but I wasn’t smelling you on purpose,” Grace insists. She untangles them and sits beside him, leaning against his arm. “I wasn’t very helpful last time you were upset, so I wanted to do better this time.”

“Thank you, Gracie,” Steve says, trying not to get choked up again. “But that’s not your job.”

“I know,” she says, as a matter of fact. “But I wanted to. How am I supposed to be a good big sister if I can’t even get a _rational_ human to stop crying, never mind a crybaby one?” Steve can’t help it – he bursts out into laughter. She grins up at him as though she has accomplished her goal, and maybe she has.

“You got a point, kiddo,” Steve says.

“Can I touch your belly?” Grace asks, pointing to the swell. Steve nods and she lays a hand on the side. He’s been feeling movement, but Danny has kept missing the moments and the kid has refused to move for his other dad. Right now, Steve isn’t moving so the kid’s occasionally been squirming. Grace feels a ripple and squeals in excitement, pressing closer. “This is _so_ cool,” she gushes and Steve laughs, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear as she presses around, looking for more movement.

He feels better. He has no reason to worry. Steve needs to just do what he needs to do and keep himself healthy and safe. Everything will be fine. Sure, he’s still a little anxious at the thought of a miscarriage, but he’s made it this far and everything had been alright until then.

Grace’s phone rings.

“Someone’s popular,” Steve teases as she pulls it from her back pocket to check on her caller.

“Uh oh,” she mutters.

“What?” Steve says. He looks over at her caller ID and groans. “You called your Dad?”

“Sorry,” she responds.

“It’s okay, kiddo. You should probably pick up though, or else he’ll get scared something’s wrong,” Steve says. “Lemme braid your hair while you talk to him?” She nods and fishes out a few elastics from her pocket, handing them to him before picking up.

“Hi, Danno,” she says as Steve grabs a brush from the nightstand and runs it through her hair.

“Hey, monkey, what’s up? You okay?” Steve can hear him on the phone from where he’s sitting, and he smiles.

“I’m good. I’m with Papa right now.”

“You’re with – why are you with your Pops? Is he okay?” Danny says.

“He’s fine,” Grace sighs. Steve can hear the eyeroll. “Mom and Stan were busy, so he came to get me from school.”

“Oh, okay,” Danny sighs in relief. “Wait, why’d you call?”

“Um…” Grace trails off and turns to Steve, a question in her eyes. Steve sighs and nods. “Papa was feeling kind of sad and I got worried, so I called you and then went to check on him.”

“He’s feeling kind of sad?” Danny says. “Can I talk to him?”

“Sure,” Grace responds. She hands the phone back. “It’s for you.”

“Oh, is it?” Steve says. He takes the phone and puts it between his shoulder and ear as he starts to French braid one side of Grace’s head. “Hello. I heard it’s for me.”

“Hello, Steven. I heard you’re upset,” Danny says. “What’s up babe? Is it because of this afternoon? Look, I’m sorry if we’ve all been a bit overbearing, lately, it’s just that-”

“It wasn’t that,” Steve says, stopping him. He ties off the braid and starts brushing the other half of Grace’s hair. “Try not to move, honey,” he tells her.

“Okay,” she says.

“Then what was it? Also, who’s not moving?”

“I’m braiding Grace’s hair,” Steve says. “And I… was on the phone with…” He trails off. He doesn’t want Grace to think he’s mad at her mom, because he isn’t.

“With who? Wait, can you not say so because of Grace?”

“Yep,” Steve confirms, starting to braid the other side.

“Then it was Rachel, obviously,” Danny sighs. “What did she say this time?”

“It wasn’t really her fault,” Steve admits, pulling Grace’s hair tight, then apologizing when she winces. He rubs her scalp and ties off the last braid. “All set.” Grace runs off to their mirror to admire herself and Steve sits back against his pillows on the bed. “I didn’t…” He struggles to get it out, his free hand resting on his stomach. “I didn’t know she was pregnant once, before Grace. It sorta slipped out when she was asking me about the baby and comparing pregnancies.”

Danny is silent on his end. Steve understands.

“It was a little after we first started dating. The condom broke and she wasn’t on the pill yet. She was seriously considering an abortion when it happened,” Danny finally says. “She was just starting a new, high profile job, we were moving, we were young…”

“I know, she said as much. And she tried not to tell me, but I sorta yelled and forced her into a corner. I need to apologize for that,” Steve says, rubbing his face. “But anyway, you know me. I got all bent out of shape with the what-ifs, but I had to pick up Grace, so when I got home I sorta…”

“Yeah, you had a moment. Listen, I’ll be home in the next hour, okay? We hit a dead end here today and everyone needs to throw in the towel,” Danny says. “Wanna hand the phone back?”

“Yeah,” Steve says. He pulls it away from his ear and calls, “Grace? Danno wants to talk to you.”

“Hi!” she says, running back for the phone.

“Hey baby, thank you so much for looking out for Papa,” Danny says. Steve smiles.

“I’m practicing for the baby,” Grace says, sounding proud of herself.

“That’s a good idea,” Danny admits.

“Hey, Danno? Papa?”

“What’s up?” Danny says as Steve nods to show her he’s listening.

“Can I stay over tonight? I know I’m technically coming over tomorrow afternoon and for the weekend, but do you think I can stay tonight too?”

“Baby, you gotta ask your mom,” Danny says. Steve nods, though he really wants her to.

“Okay! But if she says yes, can I?”

“Of course,” Steve responds.

“Ok, bye Danno, I’m calling mom!” Grace says. Steve hears Danny splutter and then she hangs up on him and calls her mom. “Hi Mommy!” Grace practically yells.

“Hello, love, are you alright?” Rachel asks.

“Yep, I wanted to ask if I can stay over Danno and Papa’s tonight?” Grace asks.

Steve remembers the first time Rachel had heard Grace call him Papa. Her eyes had widened and fallen on Steve before she had frowned and told Grace it was time to go. Apparently, she had called Danny later on and demanded to know what was happening.

“Grace did that on her own,” Danny had replied. “What do you want me to tell her, not to do it? If she wants to call Steve her Pops, then let her. He’s completely happy with it.”

“What if it doesn’t work out?” Rachel had insisted.

“Rach, no offense, but I’m gonna spend the rest of my life with this man. The only thing stopping that is one of us dying, which is the whole point with the ‘the rest of my life’ thing,” Danny had said, chuckling on the end.

Rachel had let it go and when Danny had told Steve, Steve had teased, “Oh, really? Sounds like a proposal, Danno.”

“Not yet,” Danny had snorted, getting into bed. “But one day, you bet your ass.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” Steve had yawned, and they’d both knocked out after the long day they’d had.

“Grace, you’ll be with them this weekend,” Rachel says now.

“Why can’t I just stay tonight too, then?” Grace asks, pouting. “I’m already here.”

“It’s a school night, sweetheart,” Rachel argues, but there’s something sad in her voice, like she’s realizing that her daughter is old enough to do this and _wants_ to.

“I can wash my uniform and I have clothes here. And I did all of my homework already!” Grace insists.

“Grace,” Rachel sighs. “Is Steve there?”

“Yes!” Grace squeals and practically shoves the phone into Steve’s ear.

“Hey, Rachel, she asked us when Danny called, and we told her it’s your call, not ours,” Steve says immediately.

“No, it’s fine,” Rachel sighs. “I have a feeling she’s going to want to spend more time there because of the baby.” She falls quiet. “Look, Steve, honestly, I really didn’t mean to upset you earlier-”

“That was my fault,” Steve says, stopping her. “I appreciate you being honest with me, but I’m also sorry I sorta intimidated you into it. That was unfair, and I made it awkward for the both of us.”

Rachel chuckles. “Live and learn, as they say.” She sighs again. “Are you sure it’s no hassle if you have her a day earlier?”

Steve restrains himself from whooping for joy. “Of course not. I can wash her uniform and we’ll drive her in tomorrow, no problem.” Grace starts shouting in happiness at his answer, dancing around the room.

“Well, she sounds happy,” Rachel muses. Steve smiles.

“She is. Thank you, Rachel. You could’ve said no.”

“Yes, I could have, but she’d never forgive me. It’s not an unreasonable request either,” Rachel says. “I’ll bring a few uniforms for her when I drop her overnight bag off after work tonight. For when this inevitably happens again. And I know she’s lying about having finished all of her schoolwork, so if you could just make sure she actually _does_ finish it. Not that I thought you wouldn’t, but-”

“Rachel? We’ve got it, I promise,” Steve chuckles.

“I know you do,” Rachel says, voice soft and tinged with sadness. “Alright, let me say goodbye. I’ll let her know I’m coming by with her bag later.” Steve hands off the phone to Grace and watches as she animatedly speaks to her mother and thanks her. Then she’s off the phone and bouncing on the bed as Steve watches with an amused smile on his face.

“Do me a favor and call your dad, please. You hung up on him pretty quick,” Steve says.

“No, need. The Dad in question has already arrived,” Danny says from the doorway. He walks in, kicking his shoes off and hanging his belt up on the peg by the door. “Looks like we got an affirmative from your mom?” he asks.

“Yes, we did!” Grace yells. She hops off the bed to go hug Danny and holds still while he kisses her forehead. “How was work?”

“Eh, same old, same old. How was school?”

“Eh, same old, same old,” Grace repeats with a grin.

“Ha, funny,” Danny says. He looks over at Steve. “How’s my favorite fiancé and the wee one doing?”

“We’re better,” Steve says, his smile softening. Danny walks over and presses a kiss to Steve’s mouth, Grace making retching noises behind him. “Enough, Grace,” Steve says in exasperation.

“Yeah,” Danny says, turning around to stick his tongue out at her.

“Gross,” Grace says. “Actually, I should finish my homework. I told mom it was already done, but that was only because I wanted to stay here.” She gives a wave and runs out and down the stairs. Danny squints after her as she goes.

“Either she has magically become responsible overnight or she can now read the room and tell when we need a minute alone,” he says.

“I think it’s the second one,” Steve says. Danny crawls onto the bed with him and lies down.

“Okay, let’s talk, what’s up?”

“Nothing, you know how my head works. One talk of miscarriage and I go into overdrive. It made me really think. Maybe I’ve been taking a few more risks than I should,” Steve admits. “I’ve decided I’m going on desk duty.” Danny sits up in surprise. “Kono’s right; vests won’t fit me anymore and I am very noticeably pregnant. The first thing _any_ asshole who hates us is gonna do is shoot me in the gut.”

“Jesus, Steven,” Danny mutters. “Okay. Desk duty. Gonna be doing all our research for us now?” he teases.

“Sure,” Steve grumbles.

“Look, it’ll take some getting used to, I know that,” Danny says. “But… I think it’s a good choice, even if it’s a hard one.”

“Yeah, I think so too,” Steve admits. He sighs, sliding down the pillows to lay down and put both hands over his stomach. “That baby shower is gonna be interesting. You think anyone is gonna buy dresses?”

“Maybe?” Danny says, laying on his side and propping his head up on a hand.

“If we have a boy, can we still put him in them?”

“Of course,” Danny scoffs. “Why not? All babies used to wear dresses. Why are you asking me all this?”

“Cos… I dunno, you don’t seem the type, but I’ve seen some alphas get _weird_ about babies and sex-status,” Steve admits.

“See, Rachel got like this too. She got worried that I might get mad if Grace grew up and wanted to do stereotypical boy things like sports or I dunno, play in the dirt. I don’t care. You’re right, I’m not that type of alpha, but I appreciate you checking in anyway, so I know what’s on your mind,” Danny says.

“You’re welcome,” Steve says with a laugh.

“Look, I want our kids to feel free to be whoever they are. So yes, if we have a boy and people give us dresses or he grows up and picks a dress to wear, then he’ll wear it and I’ll deck anyone who wants to talk shit about it.” Danny shrugs. “And if he ends up not being a he, then that’s fine too. Same if we have a little lady who ends up being not so little or a lady. Hell, if Grace walks in here and tells me she’s nonbinary or genderqueer or something, it’s not like I’m gonna stop her. Them? Well, right now she’s a she, so.”

“Danny, I get it,” Steve says, stopping him before he hurts himself. Steve laughs. “Thanks for the pep talk. Nice to know our kids are _actually_ being loved unconditionally from all sides.”

“Well, we don’t really know about _Stan_ , now do we?”

“Danny,” Steve admonishes.

“I’m a girl, but I think I like a girl!” Both men turn to see Grace standing in the doorway. “I promise I only heard the last part! I need help on the last math problem in my homework, so I thought I’d come ask.” She runs over and points it out to Steve, who reads over the word problem and realizes where she must have gone wrong. He reads it to her aloud, slowly this time, and explains the hard part of the problem. It must click for her, because then she’s scribbling out an equation and filling in the blanks on the work sheet. Steve checks over the problem, corrects a division error, and then okays her homework. Danny stares.

“I’m sorry, you said you liked someone?” he says as Grace is putting her homework in its folder.

“Her name is Kalani, and she’s in the same grade as me, but a different class. We’ve been talking a lot at lunch and in our elective classes,” Grace explains, putting her folder aside. She sits between them on the bed, looking at her hands. When she peeks up at them, she’s smiling. Steve’s chest gets tight and warm. “There was this boy-”

“What boy?” Danny asks.

“If you let her talk, she’d tell you,” Steve cuts in. Danny takes that as his cue to shut the fuck up.

“There was this boy named Martin, and he seemed nice, and he wanted to know if I would go to the dance with him, but I didn’t really want to go to the dance, so I said no. And then he got mad and was saying some mean things, and Kalani came over and told him to go away or else she’d punch his lights out.” Grace smiles wider. “Then she told me she liked my poem that I read at the school’s poetry circle after school last week and we ate lunch together. She’s _super smart_ and she’s really nice.”

“She sounds nice,” Steve says as Danny blinks, still processing that his daughter had been asked out on a date, had said no, and then had gone on a lunch date with someone else instead.

“She _is_ nice!” Grace says.

“So, you think you like Kalani?” Danny finally says.

“I think so. Boys are okay too, but they’re kind of gross right now,” Grace admits. “Girls are soft and smell nice.”

“They do smell nice,” Steve concedes. He can’t argue with her there.

“Also,” Grace says, and she finally looks nervous. “Kalani does hula with a group in town. They’re having an event in a few weeks, and I’m gonna be here on that weekend. She invited me to go see her perform, and I told her I’d ask my dads. But… do you think we can go?” She whips out her phone and pulls up her calendar with the date, showing it to Steve and Danny. “I… I really wanna go see her dance. She has a solo and everything.”

Danny looks almost defeated. Steve is trying not to laugh.

“I think it would be wonderful if we went to go see your friend dance,” Steve says, bopping her on the nose. “And who knows? Maybe by the end of the night, you two won’t _just_ be friends.” Grace turns red and Danny’s eyes widen.

“Okay, no dating until you’re at least 30,” he claims.

“Danno!” Grace groans. “Don’t be mean. We’re not gonna do anything _bad!”_

“Yeah, Danno,” Steve echoes, fighting the battle against his smile. “Don’t be mean.”

“You’re an enabler, stop talking. And you, go watch TV or something while I mourn the death of your innocence,” he says to Grace, who giggles and kisses his cheek.

“Love you, Danno,” she says. She blows a kiss to Steve. “Love you, Papa.”

“We love you,” Steve says for the both of them as she disappears downstairs, closing the door to their room.

“So, she likes kind, badass, intelligent people,” Steve says. “Just like you do!”

“I never said you were intelligent,” Danny grumbles.

“They’re kids, Danny,” Steve says. “It’ll be fine. We have other things to think about, anyway.”

“Yeah, like what?”

“When are we getting married, dude?” Steve asks, flopping back on the bed. He lifts his left hand, spreading his fingers, and admires his ring.

“That’s… a good question. Okay, first: before or after the baby?”

“After,” Steve groans. “I’m not hanging out in the sun while carrying another human being inside me, no way.”

“Okay, good choice,” Danny says, laying down too. “So, I know we don’t have a lot of people to invite…”

“Yeah, something small,” Steve agrees. “Nothing fancy. Hey!” He turns on his side, careful with his stomach. “We could just do something like, not on the beach, I know you hate sand, but something small. Grab Kono and Chin, have Rachel drop Grace off, and drag Max and Kamekona out of their respective holes. We can see if Mary can make it over, and Joe, too.”

“Actually, we can do it in the backyard, if you want,” Danny offers. “I know you like the ocean, and it’s right there. There’s some grass before we hit the beach so I’m not suffering too much. And yes, Steven, we can all wear boardshorts.”

Steve laughs at that. “Yeah? Thank god. Grace can wear whatever she wants. Super fancy or not, whatever. We’ll put the baby in the same thing.” Steve grins. “Even if it’s a dress.”

“Yes, as we’ve established. Everyone can wear a dress. You can too, if you wanted.”

“Nah, not really into the flowy bottom thing. I just feel… so exposed, you know? With the wind blowing around down there and my legs out,” Steve admits.

“I’ve decided that, even if it’s not at our wedding, I strongly desire to see you in a dress,” Danny responds.

“Ok, head back in the game. What else?”

“Wanna shoot for three months after the baby? That way you can rest, we can get a routine going with the little sucker, and it’ll make the wedding a lot smoother,” Danny suggests.

“Yeah, good idea. I’m asking Chin to be my best man,” Steve continues.

“Wonderful, cos I’m asking Kono to be my maid of honor,” Danny says. “I just didn’t want us gunning for the same person. It would be so unfair that she would have to say no to you.”

“How do you know?” Steve challenges. “Maybe she’d say no to _you_.”

“Yeah, okay, Steve. You tell yourself that.” Danny stops, getting somber. “You think Chin will be alright?” They both think of Malia, how Steve was _Chin’s_ best man at their wedding.

“Yeah,” Steve says. “I know two years isn’t a long time, but I think he would be really happy having such an important role in our special day, like I had in his.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Danny says. He sighs. “Well, that’s that. We just have to ask people and pick a day, then go for it. Lax dress code, small invite list. Are you uh.” Danny clears his throat. “You gonna try and find your mom?”

“No,” Steve says. “If she hears about it and shows up, then that’s fine. Besides that, I’m not gonna try. Too much stress, you know?” He rubs his belly. “We don’t need that, do we baby?”

Danny lifts a hand. “May I?”

“They’re your baby, too, doofus,” Steve says, taking Danny’s hand and placing it around the spot he had last felt movement.

“Well, yeah, but they’re currently being housed in _your_ body which I have no control over, so yes, I’m asking first,” Danny says. Steve feels pressure around the spot Danny’s hand is in and Danny yelps. “Holy shit, was that it? Was that them? Is that – Steve, oh! There it – there it is again, hey baby!” Danny gets onto his knees and bends close, pressing his lips to the spot, and kissing it. “Hey there. Daddy’s right here, hey!”

“You are so loud,” Steve says, laughing.

“They’re supposed to be able to hear us at this point, right?” Danny asks. Steve nods. “There we go.” He turns his attention back onto Steve’s belly. “I want them to know my voice. Yes, that’s right, I want you to know my voice and that we love you. We love you. Your sister’s not up here right now, but she loves you too.”

“Yeah,” Steve murmurs, watching Danny unabashedly make a fool of himself. “We really, really love you. And we can’t wait to meet you.”

* * *

Steve is 8 months pregnant and is ready for this baby to get the fuck out of him.

It’s hot, his back hurts, he has to pee _again_ , and life behind a desk is just not for him. He’s losing his mind, really. Danny tries to keep him busy and Rachel has been letting him pick Grace up from school a lot more because she understands how hard the wait can be, but it’s getting ridiculous. This Friday is Rachel’s ‘friend’s’ hula event and Sunday is his baby shower. He wants to go to neither of them right now, even though two days ago he couldn’t wait for either.

“This sucks man, what if I’m in a bad mood the whole weekend?” Steve groans to Max. He’s eating a pudding cup as Max performs an autopsy. Man, he loves butterscotch.

“I think this will pass, Steve,” Max says, cracking through the victim’s ribs. “Just relax for the next few days and let the positivity come to you,” he says, waving the pliers around.

“Yeah, I like the sound of that,” Steve says, finishing his pudding. “Thanks for letting me hang out down here. It’s cooler than upstairs, even with the A/C on.”

“I wish I was better company,” Max says.

“Max, buddy, you’re great company. I’m also really glad you can make the wedding,” Steve says. They had sent out invites and asked their friends to be their witnesses. Chin had let a few tears fall as he gratefully accepted, while Kono had let out a shout and high-fived Danny so hard his hand was red afterward.

“Of course,” Max says, as though he is offended Steve thought he may have missed it. “I feel it will be a very exciting day. An April wedding is always lovely. The tourists aren’t really out and about yet.”

“You’re not wrong,” Steve admits. “Okay, I’m gonna go actually do my job. It was nice to take a break though bud. Feel free to pop up any time and hang out if you can,” Steve tells him, getting up. He eases out of his chair and immediately braces a hand on his lower back. The baby sucker punches his diaphragm in retaliation for being moved. “Fuck, kid. Easy on my insides.” He rubs a hand over the spot until the baby soothes.

“Good luck,” Max says earnestly, turning back to his work. He goes for a bone saw next, and Steve gets the fuck out of there.

Later on, he’s feeling better, especially when Danny comes in with their perp all handcuffed and ready to face the long arm of the law. Danny looks quite proud of himself at this newest accomplishment.

“Hey, we caught him with the intel you got us from Kamekona, so _you’re_ the real hero of the day,” Danny says with a grin. When he gets out from booking the guy, he walks over and gives Steve a peck on the lips. “How’re you two doing?” Steve nods to him and Danny puts both hands on his belly. He gets an immediate, sharp kick. “Whoa, calm down soldier, what did Papa ever do to you?”

“They’ve been at it all day,” Steve says, trying not to let the distress leak into his voice. He must not succeed because Danny looks up and frowns at him.

“Sorry you’ve been uncomfortable, babe,” Danny says. “Anything I can do to help?”

“I don’t know,” Steve says. “Can you come with me to the beach in the backyard? I’m gonna stand in the water a bit, see if the ocean calms them down. I know you’ll worry if I go alone.”

“Yeah, we can do that, let’s head out.”

“We can handle the rest here,” Chin says, nodding to them. “Go hang out, relax. And you have that luau or something tomorrow, right?” Steve nods. “Then have fun, Steve. We’ll all see you on Sunday.”

Danny gets Steve home and helps him out of his work clothes and into some wide swim shorts. They stand in the water up to their chests, hands grasped in each others, talking about their days. Steve finds his irritation melting away. And the saltwater is supposed to be good for his stretchmarks too, so that’s a plus. About 45 minutes later, he realizes that the baby has stopped beating him up. There’s the occasional swishing that lets him know they’re alright, but the ocean has seemed to do the trick.

“How’d you know how to do that?” Danny asks when Steve tells him.

“My dad,” Steve admits, the words tasting bittersweet. “Apparently, I was a little bastard too and this was the only way he got me to leave him alone the last month or two of his pregnancy. Mary was a bit easier, Dad could just hop on a boat and the movement would lull her. But I wanted the ocean, so I got it.”

“Prima Donna, much?” Danny teases. “How long should we stay in here, then?”

“Probably another 15-20 minutes,” Steve suggests. “Really lull them to sleep or whatever it is. Then we can get out and I can probably get some peace for a few hours.”

“Look, I know you’ve been having trouble sleeping. If you want to stay home tomorrow night, I can bring Grace to see Kalani on my own. She’ll understand,” Danny offers.

“No, no, _no_ ,” Steve says, trying not to cry out of frustration. “I _want_ to be there for this, I want to, Danno. It’s the first time she’s really, seriously interested in someone and she’s making an effort to go support them. That’s a wonderful thing to be a part of.”

“Okay, okay,” Danny says. He rubs Steve’s back. “Then we’ll all go. She’s gonna be excited that you still want to go, cos she was telling me the other day that if you weren’t feeling good, she was okay with it.”

“She’s too fucking sweet,” Steve says, leaning against Danny. The sun is starting to set, and they should get out of the water soon, but the whole atmosphere is soothing. Steve loves this.

“She is. I think she gets it from you, to be honest,” Danny admits. “I’m not _that_ considerate, and Rachel? Ha, don’t make me laugh.”

“Good, I want her to get something from me, for once,” Steve snorts.

“Don’t you worry,” Danny says. “She does.”

The next day, Steve is feeling so refreshed. The kid let him sleep through the night and then woke him up with a nudge to his kidneys that had him rushing to go pee. But they were cooperating for the most part, and the day is filled with everyone writing up reports for their archives and the governor over the last case. He and Danny leave early to pick up Grace, their paperwork done and over with, and Steve feels amazing when he sees her smiling face.

“I’m so excited for tonight!” Grace says, clapping her hands together. “ _And_ I have no homework, which is the best.”

“Lucky you,” Steve says.  “Danno and I had to do homework all day because of a case yesterday.”

“Wow, that sucks,” Grace agrees. “But tonight is gonna make it worth it!” Danny and Steve share a look that has them smiling the whole way home. However, as the afternoon progresses and they’re all getting ready to go to the event, Grace’s mood takes a nosedive. She’s still in her room when Steve checks the clock and realizes that they need to leave in 15 minutes to make it in time to grab decent seats.

“What’s taking her so long?” Danny asks, but Steve has a feeling.

“I think she’s nervous,” Steve admits. Danny sighs and they both head up to her room. There’s rustling and muttering coming from behind the door. Steve knocks.

“Just a minute!” Grace yelps and scurries around.

“Gracie? It’s just us. Can we come in?” he asks.

“I don’t… I – yeah okay, I guess,” she responds.

When they enter, Danny winces. There are clothes thrown everywhere – on the bed, the dresser, the floor, even the damn window sill. Grace is standing in front of her almost-empty closet frowning in earnest at what’s left. Her weekend bag is overturned with its contents spilled across her pillows, all but abandoned. She’s in a tank-top and underwear, barefoot on the floor. Her hair is down and partially covers her scowling face. Steve and Danny share a look, silently arguing for the other to say something first. Steve rolls his eyes and cracks first.

“Can we do anything to help, honey?” he asks.

“When do we have to go?” she mumbles.

“Fifteen minutes would be the best time,” Steve admits.

“What the heck to you even _wear_ to something like this?” Grace groans, flopping back on her bed.

“Uh, well, Dad and I are just wearing shorts and shirts. You know I have that favorite one that Kamekona got me.”

“Kamekona gets you _all_ your ugly, Hawaiian shirts cos he thinks it’s funny when Daddy makes faces and complains,” Grace responds mulishly.

“This is true,” Steve says. He turns to Danny and gestures that it’s his turn.

“Uh, monkey, what about a dress?” Danny says, coming in further.

“Which one?” Grace responds blandly.

“Literally _any_ one,” Danny says in exasperation, but it just sets Grace off. She sits up and glares at the two of them. Steve steps back.

“It can’t be _any_ one Danno, it has to be the _best_ one,” she cries. “But I don’t know which one that is! I have to look nice because she’s going to look _so nice_ and so are all her friends, and I – I want them to like me, I want _her_ to like me.” Grace ends with her face pressed to her hands. Steve sighs and sits near her.

“Baby, the way you talk about her and how she acts around you, I’m sure she likes you. I bet you can wear anything and she thinks you’re cute, because you’re just _that_ cute,” Steve says.

“But what if she doesn’t?” Grace laments, looking up at him and then Danny. Danny comes in and kneels by her feet, one hand on her knee and the other on Steve’s.

“We can’t promise you she will,” Danny says gently. “But we can promise that, if that’s the case, we’ll be here for you, and anything we can do to help, we’ll do it, ok?”

“Even if I just, I just want to cry and eat ice cream?” Grace asks.

“Especially if you want to cry and eat ice cream. I love ice cream, you know that,” Steve responds, wrapping her in a hug and kissing her forehead. “We’ve got five minutes, kiddo. It’s time to make a choice.”

“Okay,” she says. She gets up and starts kicking through clothes, pulling a pair of denim shorts out that aren’t _too_ short, thank goodness, and a floral, button-down, short-sleeved shirt to go with them. Her sneakers match the shirt and when she turns around, still grumpy, Danny and Steve give her two thumbs-up. “Papa, can you braid my hair?” she asks.

“Of course, go grab me a brush and hair ties, please,” Steve says. It takes a few more minutes to do, but then they’re running out the door and Steve is slamming on the gas to get them to the event space on one of the east-side beaches. They have to park a bit away and walk down, but they find great seats near the front of the dance platform, and take seats on the blankets laid out.

The event is pretty informal, but the dancing is quite professional. Danny had brought Steve a pillow to lean back on for his back, and he does so now as he watches Grace’s crush, Kalani, dance her solo. There’s a community group playing the drums, flutes, and ukuleles in the background on the stage, and the other dancers are swaying behind her as she goes. She’s quite talented and very adorable, with long black hair and warm, tan skin. Her grandfather is one of the elders that helped set up the hula group, and Steve remembers him from his own childhood at events such as these.

Kalani’s solo ends and the younger hula dancers come forward with the older ones and do one last dance altogether. Grace is the loudest one when Kalani gets presented with gorgeous flowers at the end for her solo, and both Danny and Steve can see her face light up when she catches sight of Grace clapping in the crowd. Once the event draws to a close, both girls go running toward each other through the crowd. It takes Steve a minute to stand up, even with Danny’s help, but then they’re waddling over too.

“That was amazing!” Grace shouts over the noise, holding both Kalani’s hands in either of hers.

“Thank you so much for coming,” Kalani gushes. She looks away, blowing a wavy lock of hair from her face. “I wasn’t sure if you would actually come.”

“I’ve been looking forward to it since you told me about it,” Grace admits, looking down at their clasped hands. She looks back up and smiles that award-winning Williams smile. “You really were awesome. And you – you look really nice, too,” Grace stutters out as Danny and Steve finally catch up. Steve pulls Danny back by the hand and shakes his head, insisting they give the girls space.

Kalani blushes, her cheeks ruddy, and looks down at her grassy hula skirt and white tube top. She has grassy bracelets on her ankles and wrists, and brightly colored leis around her neck. When she looks back up, she nods to Grace’s outfit, giving it a once over that has Danny slowly turning to Steve with wide eyes and pressed-together lips, barely containing himself.

“Steven,” he says, slightly hysterical.

“Cool it, babe,” Steve insists.

“You look really nice too,” Kalani finally chokes out. “I got sorta nervous when I first saw you during the second dance, but then you looked really happy and I wanted to dance my best for you.”

“You’re really sweet,” Grace proclaims. Kalani lets go of one of Grace’s hands, but holds the other one firmly in hers, interlocking their fingers.

“My parents are making food on the beach, a little down there. You and your parents are invited if you want to join us. I… I told my mom that I had someone – um, really special to me coming and she said you were more than welcome!” Kalani blurts. She looks red and Steve has to try not to laugh.

“My dads!” Grace yelps, realizing she had left Danny and Steve in the dust.

“Right here, Gracie!” Danny calls, waving his arms so she can see him. Grace turns and starts dragging Kalani over to them. “Wait, Steve, what is she doing?”

“Probably coming to introduce us,” Steve says, chuckling,

He’s right; Grace stops right in front of them, her hand still in Kalani’s, and says, “Kalani, these are my dads. Daddy, Papa, this is Kalani.”

“Aloha, Kalani,” Steve says while Danny recovers. He sticks out his hand and shakes hers. “I’m Commander Steve McGarrett. I’m one of Grace’s dads.”

“Aloha, Mr. McGarrett,” Kalani says taking her hand back and grinning.

“Well actually,” Danny says, finally back from his Personal Moment. “He’s marrying _me_ pretty soon, and I’m Danny Williams, so technically, you’re gonna be a Mr. Williams soon, huh?”

“Hmmm, more like Commander Williams,” Steve counters.

“I can’t tell if that’s more or less of a mouthful than McGarrett,” Danny muses.

“Congratulations on your baby!” Kalani says, getting their attention back on her. She looks at Grace and smiles. “Grace is really excited and showed some of us pictures of the ultrasound at school. I think you’re gonna have a boy, but Grace says you don’t want to find out until the baby is born. That’s cool!”

“Mahalo, Kalani,” Steve says. “The baby’s kicking around right now – do you wanna feel it?” She nods her head vigorously and drags Grace over to feel his belly with her. Both girls lay their hands where Steve indicates the most movement is and break out into giggles when their palms are pressed.

“They kick really fast,” Kalani says, taking her hands back. She slides one right back into Grace’s palm, and Grace makes excited, manic eye contact with her parents at the gesture. “My parents are having a cookout on the beach, over there.” Kalani points down the way. “You’re all invited, if you’d like to come.”

“You know what, that sounds awesome,” Danny says. “Why don’t you two run ahead and let them know we’re coming? I’m gonna stick behind and help this guy waddle his way down the sand.” Kalani and Grace look at each other and laugh, then run off, tugging each other by the hand talking animatedly.

“That was real generous of you Danny,” Steve says with a smile.

“Well, she seems to really like the girl, and Kalani is actually a very talented dancer and very sweet, also, I’m hungry, Steve, and I bet you are too. Nothing wrong with hanging with this family. Checking on these parents. Making sure everyone checks out before letting them be around our baby-girl,” Danny mutters.

“I mean you sticking back to help me walk over there,” Steve teases.

“Oh!” Danny yelps. Then he turns to Steve and squints. “Now you’re just messing with me.”

“I am,” Steve confirms, then starts walking toward them. “C’mon. You’re right. I am hungry.”

“This is why you’re marrying me,” Danny jokes. Steve snorts.

“Well, not the _only_ reason.”

* * *

Grace doesn’t stop talking about Friday through the whole weekend, but she’s so happy that neither of her dads can be irritated with her. By the time Sunday rolls around, she’s already convinced them (read: Danny) to invite Kalani and her parents to the baby shower, should they so wish to attend. In the end, Kalani gets dropped off, as she’s the one who knows the family best, but her parents send their best wishes and a plastic hula skirt and outfit for the baby as a gift. Grace is completely taken with it, and actually so is Steve.

“This is adorable,” Steve says as he opens it when guests are arriving. It’s just being held in their backyard, Grace and Kalani in the water as the adults mingle and get food. “Seriously, they didn’t have to get us anything.”

“But it’s very nice that they did,” Danny agrees. “Okay stop opening presents when no one is looking, that’s not the point of this.”

“I hate making a scene,” Steve groans, but it’s mostly to cover up the real groan he wants to give at the ache that’s taken up residence in his lower back. He rubs it and realizes his mistake when Danny zeroes in on the movement.

“St _eve_ ,” Danny intones. “Sit down, you’re not feeling okay.” He gets Steve to take a seat and then goes off to get him some water. Steve looks over the gift table and cringes. There’s so much _stuff_. He and Danny are the only ones in their friend group with kids, so everyone really went all out. It’s like this on Grace’s birthday too, to be honest, but Steve has never had it directed at him and he remembers why he hates being the center of attention. It’s just too overwhelming. Where the fuck is Danny, anyway?

“Looking good there, Steve,” Joe says, pulling up a seat. “You okay, son? You just went a bit pale.” In truth, Steve had gotten a twinge of mind-blowing pain right near his spine just as Joe sat. “Do I need to grab Danny?”

“Uh, no, it’s fine, Joe. But thanks,” Steve says, exhaling as the pain dissipates. That’s… kind of weird, but he doesn’t think of it much. Mary declares it present time, and Grace and Kalani come racing back from the water, Grace’s face oddly red. Damn, Steve is _sure_ he and Danny had reminded her about sunscreen; hell, he swears Danny even slathered some on her nose before she ran off to swim, but it can only do so much, he supposes.

As the baby’s godparents, Chin and Kono insist their gifts be opened first. Chin has gotten the baby _mounds_ of clothes in all colors and styles. There’s even little pairs of sandals and hats in there.

“Hey,” Chin insists. “My godbaby is definitely gonna be a haole. I don’t want them to burn.” Steve laughs as Danny grumbles that Grace was pretty tan, so they might get lucky with the next one. Chin has also bought toys and bottles, a backpack styled diaper/day bag, and even a papoose. Danny is sorta in love with _that_ at least.

“I can carry them everywhere,” Danny says. “Oh, that’s great. Chin Ho Kelly, everyone, a freakin’ genius.”

Kono has bought the car seat they’ll be using to bring the baby from the hospital _and_ clothes. She’s also included a swaddling set and a variety of pacifiers. She insists that they will lose a million of them, and that there will be nights that the baby won’t sleep because they won’t be able to find one, but that she has also done her best to prevent that as much as possible. Or at least, stave it off.

“I’m buying you two some time,” she says. “And hopefully some piece of mind.”

More gifts come and go, from baby-swings, to walkers and bouncers. They have clothes in sizes newborn to 3T and Steve thinks they may not have room for all of it. Even Rachel and Stan had sent over a gift in the form of a bond for a stupid amount of money. Rachel had claimed that she wanted her daughter’s half-sibling to have the same opportunities Grace would have to avoid sibling rivalry. Steve just thinks that Stan convinced her to be nice and this was what Rachel considered nice. He appreciates it all the same and makes a mental note to call her and say thank you.

They’re finally all hanging out and eating cake when the pain comes again and Steve almost chokes on his cake with the gasp he lets out. Kamekona is closest to him and comes over, a large hand going to Steve’s back to smack the cake from his lungs.

“Hey, brah, you doing okay?” he asks Steve.

“Fuck, go get Danny, man,” Steve winces as he cramps up again. “Something’s up.” For such a large man, Kamekona can run when it counts, and he speeds off into the house to grab Danny where he, Kono, and Chin were putting all the gifts in the baby’s room. In less than a minute, all four of them are running back out and surrounding Steve’s chair.

“Hey, babe, what’s wrong?” Danny says, kneeling by Steve’s knees.

“I dunno, but it-” He gasps and squeezes his eyes shut. “It hurts, Danno.”

“Okay, hospital,” Danny decides, standing up and helping Steve to his feet. Chin and Kono offer to take care of Grace and their guests, and Danny gets Steve to the Camaro and drives. It doesn’t take long, but Steve still feels terrible when they walk in and he gets sat in a wheelchair.

“It’s too early,” Steve says, wincing again. _“Fuck_.”

“I know, Steve, but what are you gonna do? Hold them in?” Danny says, wheeling him to the room the nurses are directing him to.

“I don’t think I’m ready,” Steve snaps. “I’m – _fucking hell_ – I’m freaking out, Danny.”

“Calm down, I’m right here. You’re gonna be fine, you both are,” Danny insists.

The doctor is there in minutes, looking harried with bloody gloves and a face mask. She disposes of her personal protective equipment and scrubs down, running over to Steve.

“Excuse my appearance, but I just came from a delivery,” she says, checking Steve’s vitals. “Describe your pain for me, Commander.” Steve tells her and let’s her check him out. He has to drop his pants at some point, so she can check his birthing canal and his dilation. At that point, she stops. “Ah.”

“What? What’s wrong?” Steve says.

“You’re not dilating,” she says. She presses down on his stomach and calls for an assistant to bring in an ultrasound machine. “And it doesn’t feel like the baby has dropped.”

“Does that mean they’re breached?” Danny yelps, squeezing Steve’s hand tight. Steve hates the sound of that.

“No, I do believe that you are having Braxton Hicks, though,” she says, setting up the machine when it comes in.

“I’m having who?” Steve asks as Danny chuckles beside him.

“False contractions,” their doctor says, rolling the wand over Steve’s swelling abdomen. She keeps the screen away from them until she’s checked everything, then adjusts the view and turns it so they can see. “The baby is not in distress, there’s no uterine muscle spasms, and we’re running a quick blood test, but I can bet that there will be no influx of hormones or endorphins like there would be if you were really going into labor.” She smiles kindly, for once. “Also, are you still in pain?”

Steve hadn’t even realized it, but no. He feels fine now. He groans and hides his face, completely embarrassed. “Jesus, I’m so sorry, but I freaked out and had no idea what was going on. I don’t know what this is supposed to feel like.”

“Well, actual labor is very similar, but a bit more intense and definitely prolonged,” she says, handing Danny wipes to help clean Steve up. “You did the right thing coming in. A lot of things feel like this. Anything could have been happening,” she insists. “Don’t feel embarrassed. I’d rather have nothing for you to worry about in here, than having to send an ambulance for you in an emergency out there.”

“She’s right,” Danny says, helping him sit up. Steve winces, still sore.

“I suggest bedrest for the next few days,” she says, holding up a hand when Steve opens his mouth to protest. “Only for a few days, Commander. You’ve been fine until now, so I don’t think you suddenly need to be mollycoddled.” Steve sighs, but nods his head. “If you can stay with him for the first few days, Detective, that would be beneficial,” she continues, talking to Danny now. “Just in case.”

“I can do that,” Danny insists.

“What were you up to when this happened, if I may ask?” she says, washing her hands as Steve pulls his pants back on with Danny’s help.

“We were actually finishing up at our baby shower,” Steve says with a grunt.

“Sometimes, stressful situations can bring this on,” she muses. “Try to find more quiet settings to be in. I suggest that now is a wonderful time to go on family leave.”

Steve wants to protest that too, but he doesn’t. He had at least another week or two before he had been going to officially take his family leave. But after this, he’s starting to think arguing won’t help and maybe, this whole leave thing is a good idea.

“Yeah, ok,” Steve says, rubbing his face. He’s suddenly exhausted. “I’ll get on that.”

They get discharged and Danny drives home holding his hand over the center console the whole way back. By the time they arrive, it’s dark and everyone’s gone. Chin and Kono have done a pretty good job cleaning up, and Kalani’s parents have already come by to pick her up. It is a school night, after all. Rachel has been letting Grace stay through until Monday, when Steve and Danny will drop her off at school in the morning, and she goes back to Rachel and Stan in the afternoons. So, Grace is up and waiting for them to get back. By this time, Danny has already texted everyone it had been a false alarm, so Grace isn’t worried that anything is wrong. She just wants to see her dads before she has to go to sleep and inevitably leave the next morning, not able to see them overnight for another few weeks.

“I feel like I got cheated out of my last day with you,” Grace grumbles, cuddling against Steve on the couch. Danny is on Steve’s other side, letting Steve lean into him.

“Sorry, monkey,” Danny says. “We’ll make waffles in the morning to make up for it. And you’ll see us during the week when we go to pick you up from school.”

“I know, but it’s not the same as spending the weekend or staying overnight,” she whines. Later, Steve is coming into her room to say goodnight while Danny is brushing his teeth. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“Of course,” Steve says, sitting by her on the bed.

“Kalani asked to kiss me when we were playing in the water today,” Grace mumbles. “I said yes. And it was… really nice.”

“Baby, congratulations,” Steve laughs. But she puts both her hands over his mouth.

“Don’t tell Danno! Not yet, anyway,” Grace whispers. “He _always_ freaks out.”

“Got it,” Steve chuckles. It’s not serious and this _is_ her story to tell.

Grace sighs in relief as Danny finishes gargling and goes to pee. She leans against Steve’s side and asks, “Is the baby okay, though?”

“Yeah, the baby’s fine,” Steve insists. “No need to worry.”

“I thought for sure they were gonne come!’

“Yeah, baby,” Steve sighs, rubbing his side. “Me, too.”

* * *

Steve and Danny get Grace for Christmas Eve since she’ll be with Rachel and Stan for the actual day. Steve has been off his feet all day and he’s bored out of his mind. He feels like he’s doubled in size these past few weeks and he’s ready to go. If the baby comes today, he wouldn’t be too heartbroken that they have to share their birthday with a major international holiday.

Everyone is over, drinking eggnog and hanging out. There are piles of gifts under the tree for Grace, but plenty for the baby too. They did a Yankee Swap this year to keep everyone from buying each other stupid amounts of gifts, but it didn’t really stop his friends from doing what they wanted. Hell, _Steve_ even got them all individual gifts, not big ones, but he knows it’s a lost cause when even _he_ doesn’t follow his own rules.

Kamekona had outfitted Danny in a decent Santa costume this year, and it still makes Grace’s eyes light up and laughter bubble out when she sees him. She insists that she gets to start dressing as an elf with him for the baby. Danny gets teary-eyed that she wants to start a new tradition for their growing family. Steve just rubs his belly and smiles.

“Twelve more days, huh Steve?” Chin says. He nods to Steve’s belly and Steve nods back, giving him permission to touch. Chin’s hands are gentle as they sweep over his swell. He whistles low. “Man, that’s one chunky baby you got there, McGarrett.”

“Yeah, either that or there’s more than one,” Kono jokes.

“Don’t even say that,” Danny groans from across the way as Max downs three shots of spiked eggnog in as many seconds without batting an eye. “We only have one crib.”

“But plenty of clothes, man,” Kamekona reminds them.

“Too many clothes,” Grace laughs. “But I think they’re all really cute clothes.”

“They are, aren’t they?” Steve says, pulling her close to him and kissing her forehead. “Papa’s about ready to get your sibling outta him. How’s that sound?”

“Good,” Grace says. “Clock’s ticking, Pops.”

“Oh, ho-ho, someone’s got jokes on Christmas, huh?” Steve laughs. Grace grins and asks to open some presents, since there are far too many to get through quickly. They give Lori and Catharine calls halfway through, just to say hello and wish them a happy holiday. Steve pops in his earbuds to catch up with Catharine for a little privacy since he can’t really walk into another room.

“How are you feeling?” she asks, a glass of mulled wine in hand. She’s on leave somewhere in Germany, he thinks.

“My ankles feel like lava and I’m the size of a blimp,” Steve intones. Beside him, Danny chuckles. “But I’m excited,” Steve admits. “How’s things on your end?”

“Eh, I’m alright.”

“Will you be able to make it in time for the wedding?” Steve asks. Despite their past, he and Catharine are still good friends. That’s how they started off and he thinks (hopes) they’ll always be that way.

“I’ve put in the request,” she confirms. “But it’s in April. They could grant it now and snatch it away later if something comes up. I’ll let you know as soon as I know,” she promises. “I’m glad you’re happy Steve.”

“Who said I was happy?” Steve jokes. Danny wraps an arm around his shoulders and lifts an eyebrow. Steve sticks his tongue out in response.

“Please,” Catharine says. “The look on your face says everything. You haven’t stopped smiling since I answered the call, and it’s not because you’re talking to me.” Steve rolls his eyes, but she’s right. He’s very happy.

“What can I say? I got lucky,” Steve says.

“You call this luck?” Danny asks. “We worked hard for all of this, don’t sell yourself – or _me_ – short.” His comment leaves them all laughing, and Steve feels more relaxed than he has since his Braxton Hicks incident.

“But everything’s good?” Catharine asks, getting ready to sign off and head to sleep.

“Yeah,” Steve says. “I had another false alarm when part of my mucus plug came out, but the doc just told me to get off my feet more and take it easy.” It had been heart-stopping to sit down for the bathroom then go to wipe and come away with fluids mixed with blood. He felt the baby moving and didn’t feel like he was going into labor, but Danny had insisted on going in to see their doctor. Good call, as it were.

“Jesus, Steve, can nothing go smooth with you?” she teases. Then she yawns. “Alright. All the best. Let me know when it happens and send pictures.” He says his goodbyes and hangs up, leaning up against Danny as Grace plays and wins another round of Rummy against Kamekona, Chin, and Kono. Max and Joe chat in the kitchen.

“The course of true love never did run smooth,” Danny says.

“You heard her?” Steve asks.

“She’s loud and I’m sitting right next to you,” Danny says. “But, like I said.”

“Yeah, thanks Shakespeare,” Steve chuckles, cuddling closer. “Almost there.”

“Almost there.”

* * *

They’re setting up for the New Year’s party when Steve feels a pull in his lower back and drops a tray of cookies that go scattering across the kitchen floor. Danny runs in, skidding across the room in his socks.

“Whoa, you okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, I’m fi- _uck_ ,” Steve swears. He blinks away spots. “Oh fuck, oh fuck this is worse than Braxton Hicks. Dan- _fuck_.”

He feels something pop and then a wetness rush down between his legs.

“Is Chin really gonna win this? It’s not New Year’s yet,” Danny rambles.

“Seriously?” Steve gasps. God, this fucking _hurts_. “Go get the car Danny!”

“Going,” Danny yelps. Steve waddles his way upstairs, already panting, and grabs their overnight bags. By the time he makes it back down, Danny has strapped in the car seat and shut off the oven. “Ready?” He helps Steve to the car and then hits the gas, driving like they’re chasing a suspect. He calls ahead to let them know shit is actually going down, then he’s about to call Chin and Kono when his phone lights up. It’s Chin.

“Hey, we got in the house with my key, but you’re not here,” Chin says. “Everything okay?”

“You still have a chance to win the bet,” Danny says, parking. “We’re at the hospital. Steve’s water broke in the kitchen – so watch out for that on the floor. No slipping.”

“Really?” Chin says. “Congratulations man. Let us know!”

When Danny hangs up and looks at Steve, Steve is on the phone with Grace, smiling through the pain. The contractions are pretty far apart right now, but there’s a constant ache all over his body that he’s trying to distract himself from. Danny smiles and reaches over to take his hand.

“Hey, you’re doing this, and in the next day, we’re gonna be holding that baby we worked so hard for,” Danny says. He lets go, goes to the other side of the car, and helps Steve out. Steve is smiling, but it’s strained, and even when he’s all changed and in a hospital bed, there’s still a look of unease about him. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m trying not to freak out,” Steve pants. He’s already covered in sweat. “This is really happening. I knew it was going to, but I’m still scared, Danny.”

“I’m not leaving your side, babe,” Danny promises. “It’s you and me, remember?”

“Look, Danny, if anything happens to me-”

“Nothing is going to happen to you,” Danny insists, feeling sick at the thought of it.

“Okay, but if it does, you save our baby, okay? Because if I live and they don’t, and I find out it was _your_ choice…” Steve shudders. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to look you in the face.”

“Got it,” Danny says, wincing, because that really would be something he might do. “Our kids come first, even if I don’t ever want to live without you. I’d raise that baby with so much love, I promise.” He kisses Steve’s clammy forehead. “But don’t worry – you’re gonna see that kid, and so am I, and we’re gonna raise them together.”

“Okay,” Steve agrees, then moans. “This – this is the worst.”

“Oh, baby, I bet it is. I’m right here; feel free to break my hand.”

“Don’t mind if I do.”

* * *

They got in around 9AM. It’s already midnight.

“Happy New Year babe,” Danny says. Steve is red in the face and has sweat through his johnnie. But he’s still not dilated enough to start pushing.

“It’s already the next day?” Steve says, voice tinged with exhaustion. He has bags under his eyes. “Danny, it’s been 15 hours.” His hair is matted to his head with sweat, and it curls behind his ears.

“I know, I know, do you want me to go get someone to check this out?” Danny asks.

“Yeah, yeah, please, but be – be quick, I don’t wanna be in here alone in case something happens,” Steve murmurs. They still haven’t given him an epidural either. It’s ridiculous.

Danny runs out of the room looking around for someone, _anyone_ really. He finds a nurse and lets them know if they can get someone to check Steve out because it’s starting to get unbearable and no one has checked in for a few hours. She nods and goes back, but it still takes another two hours to get their doctor in there to check Steve out. She lifts his johnnie and checks his breeding canal, frowning.

“Well, you are most certainly in labor,” she says. “But your body is not responding well. Your dilation process is quite slow. I’m starting to fear the baby will be ready before you are.”

“What – what does that mean?” Steve gasps as another contraction rocks him.

“We’ll give it another three to four hours. If you haven’t made sufficient headway in dilation, then we’re performing a cesarean-section,” she says. Steve nods and she leaves, but Danny is staring at him.

“Did you plan this or something, you werido wizard?” he says.

“Yeah, Danny,” Steve pants. “I planned to struggle through almost 20 hours of labor _just_ so I could win a couple hundred bucks in a bet between friends and family.” He groans and squeezes Danny’s hand to the point of bruising. _“Fuck!”_

“Still want more kids?” Danny winces. “I don’t think my hands do.”

“Oh, we’re having more until I can’t give birth anymore,” Steve yells. “Just to fucking spite those hands.”

“Why do I even open my mouth?” Danny wonders aloud.

“I ask myself that same question,” Steve responds. 

Four hours pass, and Steve has taken to rage-weeping and grinding his teeth. They’ve tried squatting, the bath, hot and cold water, massages; but still, nothing. Their doctor checks and comes back up shaking her head. Fuck, but it looks like their C-section is a go. She gives the order and starts getting her nurses and assistants ready.

“Well, the good news is that you’ll be meeting your baby within the next hour, gentlemen.” She pats Steve’s knee. “I know they gave you something earlier, but we’re going to need to get you on something else so we can do the procedure.”

“Yes, fuck, anything,” Steve gasps. “Just, get them out of me, this is getting stupid.”

It doesn’t take too long. They put up the sheet and shoot Steve up with whatever it is they use and then they’re asking Danny to scrub up and change so he can be in the room too. He sends a quick text to everyone updating them on the goings-on before running back in to hold Steve’s hand. Whatever they’ve given him has calmed him enough that he actually looks _worried_ at Danny’s absence. The relief is stark on his face when Danny returns and takes his place by his side.

“Okay, they’re going in,” Steve says.

“Just look at me,” Danny tells him, and Steve’s eyes stay focused on his face.

“I’m sorry I was a dick,” Steve apologizes. Danny laughs.

“Eh, I didn’t take any of it seriously. You’re in an amount of pain that I’ll never feel unless I get a really huge, jagged kidney stone that they tell me I can still somehow pass,” Danny responds. It makes Steve weakly laugh, ignored the tearing of flesh and spilling of blood going on below him.

“I’m excited but nervous,” Steve murmurs, blinking rapidly. Danny frowns.

“Hey, hey, Steve? What’s up, babe? What’s the matter?”

“I’m just, I’m really tired, Danno,” Steve whispers. “I’m just really tired…” He trails off, eyes glazing over as his head lolls and his monitors start to scream. Danny’s screaming too, but they’ve yanked the baby and sent them off to be cleaned and are now wheeling Steve into another OR.

“What the _fuck_ is going on?” Danny yells, wanting someone to talk to him.

“He reacted badly to the anesthetic we gave him. That and the surgery sent him into shock. He lost more blood than we thought he would, but he’ll be alright,” their doctor says, running after Steve’s gurney. “Just wait here, Detective. Go see your son!”

Danny is standing alone in the hall in blood-splattered scrubs when her words catch up to him.

“It’s a boy?”

Fucking Steve.

* * *

Their son is brought out to him a little later. Danny’s nervous; the first 48 hours of a newborns life are so important for creating a birth-bond with their parents. Its harder after that, though not impossible, but he and Steve have already had enough issues with this whole pregnancy for _that_ to happen. It just wouldn’t be fair.

But the baby is beautiful, and Danny cries a bit, sends photos and updates to their friends and family. Grace blows up his phone and asks why he has no pictures of her brother and Steve, but he just lies and says Steve needs rest. An hour later, Chin and Kono show up to meet their godson in person. Max tags along.

“His hands are so small,” Kono coos.

“Look at his little nails,” Chin tells her, pointing them out. “He’s perfect.”

“He has your facial structure,” Max says to Danny. “Which is common in newborns and probably developed as a way for sires not to eat their offspring for fear they were someone else’s.” Everyone stops and looks at him in abject horror. “Just a fun fact.”

“Buddy, we have different ideas of fun,” Chin says, throwing his cousin a look. Kono laughs.

“You doing okay?” she says to Danny, hand on his shoulder. He’s staring down at their son, unable to look away. His nose is like Steve’s, his eyebrows too. He’s frowning and staring and trying not to cry. “He’ll be fine.”

Danny is about to say that she doesn’t know that for sure when an orderly comes out and says the doctor would like to speak to Danny. He gets up with the baby and follows the young woman over to right outside the OR.

“He’s fine, Detective,” are her first words to him and Danny feels a few tears slide out in relief.

“Thank god,” he breathes.

“We’re moving him to ICU overnight, but if he does well, then we can move him back into the obstetrics ward. He should be waking up soon, so you are free to visit him. I suggest leaving the baby with him for the remainder of the evening and night, so they can bond.” She nods and leaves. Danny sends Kono a quick text with an update, and the rest of them head out while he goes into Steve’s room.

Steve is laying in bed. He looks disheveled and tired, but they’ve cleaned him up and taken care of him. All Danny can do is sit with the baby and wait. He’s already fed him, and the nurses have left the birth certificate paperwork in the room for them to complete. The baby’s footprint and personal information are already filled out, with Danny and Steve’s names on the sire and carrier lines. All that’s left to do is name him, but Danny needs Steve to wake up for that.

It’s as if the thought is a call.

Steve begins to stir and moan, his eyes fluttering open. He blinks to clear his vision and looks around the room, his gaze falling on Danny and the swaddled bundle in his arms. Steve’s mouth inches into a tired smile, and Danny walks over and puts their baby on Steve’s bare chest, then works on raising the bed so Steve can sit up. He’s gentle so as not to irritate Steve’s stitches.

“Hey baby, oh god, Danny, Danny, Danny,” Steve says. When Danny looks up, Steve’s got tears in his red-rimmed eyes. “They’re beautiful.”

“ _They’re_ a boy,” Danny laughs, getting weepy himself. “And yeah, he _is_ beautiful. We gotta name this beautiful boy, though.” He points to the paperwork. Steve is busy holding their son though, the softest look on his face. Everything must be so worth it just to know you brought that little thing into the world.

“Um, I dunno, wasn’t there some family name you liked for a boy?” Steve says, pressing kisses against the baby’s cheeks and forehead. “As long as we can give him my father’s name for his middle name, then you can give him his first name.”

“I mean, yeah, I was thinking Charles,” Danny admits. “Charles John Williams?”

“That sounds great,” Steve says. “That sounds perfect.”

“You wanna hyphenate it? McGarrett-Williams?” Danny suggests.

Steve looks up, confusion in his furrowed brows. “I know my mind is sluggish, but why would I do that?”

“Cos, I was thinking,” Danny says. “I know we said you were gonna take my last name when we got married, but… what if we took each other’s last names? We’d be Commander and Detective McGarrett-Williams. I don’t…” He shakes his head. “I don’t like the connotation with you having to take my last name, like I own you or something. That’s your family name, and there’s an extensive history attached to it. You shouldn’t have to lose that. And I know you said you wanted our last names to match, so this is what I was thinking of for a solution.”

Steve stares at him for a long time. Then he gets that soft, melty smile on his face again.

“You’re something else, Danno,” he murmurs. “C’mere.” Danny scoots his chair close enough to Steve’s bed, so he can lean over and kiss him. It’s soft and perfect, with their sweet-smelling baby between them. “Thank you for this,” Steve says. “You make a compelling argument and it’s… it means a lot to me that you would do that.”

“Of course,” Danny says. “I love you.”

“But Grace will have a different last name than us now.”

“Babe, no offense, but no one was gonna think that Grace was biologically yours. She looks nothing like you.” They both laugh. “It’s okay. I talked to her about it and she said it makes sense. As long as we have Williams in it, so people know she’s still ours, she said she doesn’t really care.”

“Okay,” Steve finally agrees. “Charles John McGarrett-Williams it is.” He looks down and smiles. Danny has never seen anything more beautiful. “Welcome to the family, baby.”

“Hey Steve?” Danny says a little while later, after Steve has let Charles – _Charlie_ , as Danny has already started calling him – suckle.

“Mmmm?” Steve asks, tracing the line of his baby’s cheek.

“You won both bets,” Danny says, laughing into his hands. “You seriously just won over four-hundred bucks over this.”

“Hey, no one knows me like I know me,” Steve says with a grin. He winks at Danny and Danny frowns.

“No, seriously,” Danny says. “Did you _plan_ all of this?”

“How would I do that?” Steve says with a sigh.

“I don’t know, but if anyone could, it would be you.”

“Alright, Daniel,” Steve says, waving him off.

“I’m marrying a freakin’ psychic wizard or something,” Danny groans.

Steve just winks at him and enjoys his spluttering.

* * *

_3 Months Later…_

“Charlie! Get that out of your mouth!” Grace yelps. She’s holding her little brother in her arms and uses a hand to try and get the corner of his bib out from where he’s sucking on it. Kalani laughs and helps her, coming to the rescue. Grace smiles and kisses her cheek. “Thank you.”

“No problem!” Kalani says, saluting her.

“I heard yelling!” Steve says running into the nursery.

“He was just sucking his clothes,” Grace says, rolling her eyes. “We’re fine.”

“Attitude, Captain Grace,” Steve says. “Lemme see him.” Grace carefully hands Charlie over to Steve and grins at the absolutely in-love look her Papa gives him. “Oh, my goodness, you are just too beautiful. I can barely stand to look at you and your sister together – it’s blinding.”

Steve’s in all white; from his linen button-down to his board shorts and sandals. Grace had opted for a colorful, purple crimped, halter-top dress and no shoes. True to his words, Danny had found something similar for Charlie to wear. Kalani is dressed in the same dress as Grace, her hair down and over her shoulders. She had pinned a hibiscus flower in her hair and had done the same for Grace. As of Grace’s 14th birthday at the end of last month, she had announced that she and Kalani were dating, which had given Danny an aneurysm, but Steve reassured him that they weren’t doing anything too serious. Grace was starting high school at the end of that upcoming August after all.

Also, Steve really likes Kalani. So, he had asked her to be his flower-thrower, while Grace and Charlie would take the roles of ring-bearers. It all worked out in the end.

“Okay, people are already getting here. Chin is coming in to give you the rings, Kono will get you the flowers, Kalani, and then we’re all set to go,” Steve says, cradling Charlie in one arm and dragging the girls into a side hug with the other. “Thank you two so much for being here and helping me out.”

“Of course, Papa,” Grace says, hugging him back.

“This is really exciting Commander-” Kalani stops and corrects herself. “I mean, Steve.” He had asked her to just call him Steve after she had visited him in the hospital with Grace during his stay after Charlie’s birth.

“I’m glad you could be a part of this too, Kalani,” Steve says and she blushes. “Okay, we’re pretty much set to go. Let’s go meet Chin and Kono, and-”

“But who oh _who_ is going to walk you down the aisle, Steven?”

Steve’s eyes widen, and he turns around, his heart in his throat.

“Papa, who is that?” Grace asks from behind him, leaning around to look.

“That’s my mom, Grace.” Steve swallows hard. “Hey, girls, can you two go find Chin and Kono and get your stuff from them? I’m gonna take care of this real quick. Go get Dad, too, if you don’t mind.” Grace and Kalani look at each other and then rush out, Doris moving to the side of the doorway to let them through. “What do you want, Mom?”

“I heard about the baby,” she says. “He’s beautiful.”

“He is.”

“And then, the wedding.”

“Well, you got here in time for one of them,” Steve says, not moving toward her. He adjusts Charlie, feeling him drool into his shirt.

“About three months old, is he?” she asks, but she doesn’t move toward him either.

“Yeah. Just about,” Steve responds.

There she is, his strong, confident, deadly alpha mother who married his equally strong and determined omega father and had him, the only son and a/o status child that turned out just as deadly as she was. Mary had always lamented being the only beta of the four of them, but Steve had always felt she was luckier than he. He had a lot to live up to with their mother around.

And then, her faked death. And then, her lying. And then, finally, her second disappearance.

And now, this.

“What do you want, Mom?” Steve asks again.

“Who’s walking you down the aisle?” she repeats.

“No one,” Steve admits. “I thought of asking Joe, but I really wished it could be Dad, so I didn’t.” He chuckles dryly. “Lemme guess, you’re offering?”

“Only if you want me to,” she says, chin up and back straight. So strong, but he sometimes wonders if that strength is also a weakness. “But I also think it would be wonderful if you asked Joe. He has been around more than I have.”

“But you’re my mom,” Steve says, wondering why he’s suddenly defending her.

“I’m not here to ruin your day. If you’ll let me watch, I’d be happy watching in here, from the window. I just didn’t want to witness your wedding without your permission.” Her eyes fall down to Charlie. “He looks so much like his sire,” she says. People had said that about Steve and his mother when he had been born. His father had laughed when Steve made a face as he got older, and it matched his mother’s. But it stopped being funny when she faked her own death the first time around. Turns out, no one likes looking at someone who resembles their dead spouse, not even if it’s their own son.

“Steve? Grace and Kalani came running out looking a little nervous and they weren’t making sense. What’s this all abou- _oh shit,”_ Danny yells, walking into the room. He gives Doris a wide berth and stands next to Steve and Charlie, sparing a moment to bend down and kiss their baby.

“She’s asking who’s walking me down the aisle, Danno,” Steve mumbles.

“Isn’t it bad luck for spouses to see each other before they meet at the end of the aisle?” Doris asks, still so calm as though she hasn’t been gone, again, for several years.

“We don’t believe in that superstitious bullshit,” Danny snaps. He’s dressed in the same white ensemble as Steve with the shirt cut in a different style. And, Steve thinks to himself, Danny is posturing. Great, now he’s stuck with two alphas unconsciously trying to protect him because they love him, but being annoying as they do so.

“No, we don’t,” Steve agrees.

“Do you want her to walk you down the aisle?” Danny asks, turning his back to Doris. It’s a bold move; not even Steve would do that, and he knows he can hold his own against his mother. But it’s also an insult – it lets Doris know that Danny doesn’t give a shit about her or why she’s around. He cares about Steve and what Steve wants.

It’s also a good question. _Does_ Steve want his mother to walk him down the aisle? He really wishes it was his father, but he knows he can’t have that, not now. And Joe… Joe had been there, through his parents’ wedding, through his father’s pregnancy with Steve, through his birth. He remembers Joe at his mother’s funeral, Joe through all his naval training, through his father’s death. Through everything. Even when Joe was lying to him about Shelbourne, he came through in the end, admitted to everything and put things to right. Joe’s been helping out with Grace and their baby events. Joe’s been here, now.

Where the fuck has Doris been?

Yes, Steve loves his mother. But she thought putting them all through the trauma that is grief and abandonment would protect them. It got his father killed. It got his friends hurt. And the road to hell, as they say, is paved with good intentions. Steve has moved on. He loves her and he misses her, but he doesn’t trust her. And it would be doing a disservice to those who have helped him and to himself to reward her for that. Steve doesn’t want that.

“I’m gonna ask Joe,” Steve says, looking his mother in the eye, because she raised him to. She nods. He hates that she looks unaffected, because maybe she really is. “You can watch from in here.” She nods again.

It feels like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders when she leaves. Steve can’t stop smiling, almost giddy with it. He made a choice and he’s happy with it, at peace with it.

“Babe, you okay?” Danny asks, a concerned look in his eyes.

Steve smiles, and laughs, “I’m amazing. And today is gonna be amazing too.” He lifts Charlie up high enough to press a kiss to the crown of his head. “Oh, Papa loves you so much, baby-boy.” He kisses a fat cheek then hands Charlie off to Danny when he starts getting fussy and Danny makes ‘gimme’ hands.

“Oh, no, what’s Papa doing to my little boy? What’s he doing?” Danny coos, holding Charlie against his shoulder and rubbing his back as he bounces him around. Danny rolls his eyes. “He’s so dramatic.”

“Yeah, he gets it from you, Danno,” Steve says. Danny makes a shocked scoffing noise.

“Rude, Steven.”

“We got the rings!” Grace yells coming in. She looks around as Kalani comes in behind her. “Where’s the lady – you’re mom?”

“She’s not here,” Steve says, knowing Doris is in the eaves somewhere, ready to watch the ceremony and then disappear.

“Oh,” Grace says, but leaves it alone. She holds up the little drawstring bag with the rings in it. “We’re all set. Chin and Kono are there too, and Kamekona is all set up.” Of all the services they had gotten from Kamekona, being their vicar wasn’t something they had thought would be one of them. But he was legally certified and ready.

“Alright, showtime,” Danny says. He carefully hands Charlie to Grace, making sure she’s holding him correctly, then they all head downstairs. Kalani has her basket full of hibiscus flowers in hand and stands next to Grace. She kisses Charlie’s cheek and then gives Grace a quick peck on the mouth when Danny’s back is turned. Steve chuckles and winks. “What?” Danny asks. Steve shakes his head and Danny lets it go.

“Alright. I’ll see you on the other side,” Steve says.

“I’ll send Joe your way.” He stops and then kisses Steve. “Okay, I’m going. I love you.”

“I love you.”

Steve waits around for a minute or two, taking Charlie from Grace so she can loop the ring bag through the strings on the front of his purple dress a little easier. He stays holding him, so Grace can hold one of Kalani’s hands and talk animatedly with her about how excited she is. Kalani is just as excited, swinging the flower basket around. She spills some and they both rush to pick them up in a flurry of giggles and smiles.

“Hey, Steve,” Joe says, coming inside and closing the door. “It’s about time to go. Danny sent me back here, said you wanted to speak with me, son. What can I do for you?” He chucks Charlie on the chin and bops his little nose. Charlie grabs his finger and holds on. It feels right.

“I want you to walk me down, Joe,” Steve says with a shrug. Joe’s eyes go wide and glassy.

“Steve,” he says, but can’t get anything else out.

“Listen, you were like a parent to me after my mother faked her death and my dad sent us away. He did what he could, and you picked up where he left off. He’s not here, though – you are. And I want you to give me away.” Steve is grinning by the end. Joe has a hand to his heart and he’s nodding, the wrinkles by his eyes crinkling up with emotion.

“Of course, Steve,” Joe says. He wips his face. “But…” He trails off. Steve knows.

“You saw her,” Steve says. Joe isn’t stupid; Doris is good, but so is he. He must have been staking the place out the whole time, just in case. He has to have seen her.

“Yeah. I figured…” Joe trails off.

“Like I said, you’re been more of a parent to me for longer than either of my actual parents. I want you here, doing this with me,” Steve says. “Please.”

“Of course, of course, son,” Joe says. He hugs Steve carefully, not wanting to squish Charlie. “Alright. Let me tell them we’re coming then.” He pops out to give the signal, then comes back in, ready. “Here we go.”

Kalani is first out the door. The same group that had played at her hula event are playing now. She scatters flower petals as she goes and grins. Once she’s halfway down their little makeshift aisle in the backyard, Steve hands Charlie to Grace, makes sure she’s secure with him, and sends them off. She goes with a large smile, cameras going off as they capture photos of her and her brother in matching dresses, his little tufts of blond hair tickling her nose. Then it’s time for Steve and Joe to go out. Joe slings an arm across Steve’s shoulders and they go loping out, smiling and laughing, waving with their free arms. Steve catches sight of Danny, with Kono at his side and Chin standing across from them, everyone with grins across their faces. He winks.

Joe stops just short of the wedding group and pulls Steve into a long hug, squeezing him tight. When he pulls away, he pulls Steve’s head down and kisses the crown of his head. Then he squeezes Steve’s shoulders and takes his seat. When Steve turns, Danny has a hand extended, ready to reel him in. Steve smiles and takes it. There’s never been any hesitation when it came to them.

“Alrighty, let’s get this party started,” Kamekona says, opening the book in his hands. Chin steps up behind Steve and Kono does the same to Danny. They wiggle their eyebrows at each other, making the almost-wedded couple laugh. “Hey, no jokin’. This is some serious business about to go down here,” Kamekona says. Then he cracks a smile. “Do you two have vows you wanna get out of the way?”

“Well, I would like to say that I proposed first, so if there was a contest in that, I won,” Danny says.

“And you call me competitive?” Steve grouses, not actually shocked at the comment. Their, admittedly small, audience chuckles. “If you’ve got a script, stick to it, Danno.”

“You see, that’s what I wanna talk about,” Danny says, letting go of one of Steve’s hands to point at him. He half turns to their crowd. “You know, Grace first called me that when she was three and trying to say my name. She couldn’t. I say, ‘Danno loves you,’ one time in this jerk’s presence the first time we meet and what does he do? Even after he gets the backstory on it? Calls me by my daughter’s nick-name for me!” More laughs, even from Steve. “And you know what? I let him.” Danny turns back to Steve. “I wanted to shoot you the first time we met. And I actually punched you that day, too. And you got me shot.”

“Okay, we get it, we were a mess when we first met,” Steve says, cutting him off.

“Oh no, I was fine. _You_ , you were a mess. Not me, don’t put this on both of us,” Danny argues.

“Are you guys seriously arguing at your wedding?” Chin laughs.

“No,” Danny says, insulted.

“This is flirting,” Steve finishes. “Right?”

“Of course,” Danny confirms. “As I was saying. We started rough. We’ve had problems come up, but one thing I’ve never doubted was you. Okay? I finally made my way to you. And now, we’re getting the law involved in our relationship, so everyone can know how we feel about each other.”

“Hey, that’s the pinnacle of romance,” Steve says. Danny grins. “I don’t have fancy words, Danny,” Steve admits. “You’re the father of our children, you’re the protector of my heart. All the shit we’ve had to deal with these past few years, I always knew I had you. And that’s enough for me. You’re enough for me. I don’t want anything else but you.” He pauses. “And a few more kids, but that can wait. I have to recover from this last one.”

“Yeah, I, and every healthcare professional, would recommend that,” Danny says, nodding. “You’re looking good though, babe. That post-baby body still got it.” A few hollers from the crowd, and Charlie gurgles a bit. “Yeah, baby-boy, we know. We’re almost done, I promise. Then Papa can feed you.” Danny holds up a finger. “I’m not saying this because Steve is the carrier, but we are breast-feeding, so until he’s on formula, I am on diaper duty and Steve is on feeding duty. We have a very egalitarian marriage here.”

“Or, we will once we finally shut up and let Kamekona marry us,” Steve says. “Wrap it up, Danno.”

“Me? You started this!”

“And I love you,” Steve says, ignoring him with a laugh. “I’m gonna love you forever. Even after I’m dead. This death do us part bit is bullshit, because neither of us is gonna let go because of something as stingy as death.”

“Yeah, I know,” Danny says, as though they aren’t in front of the most important people in their lives. “What’s up with that? Why is that even a thing anymore?”

“I don’t know,” Steve answers honestly.

“By the power vested in me,” Kamekona breaks in, cutting them both of to everyone’s relief, “I now pronounce you husband and husband. You are officially married because you signed the paperwork and paid for the license already. I’m just here to make the magic _happen_.” He makes a complicated motion with his hand that has both Danny and Steve looking at him in confusion.

“Are you forgetting something?” Kono chuckles. She lifts her ring bag and shakes it around.

“We need to give each other the rings, man,” Steve says. Danny and Chin are too busy laughing.

“Aw, crap,” Kamekona says. He sighs. “Okay, exchange rings. C’mon.”

Chin hands Steve his and he slides it onto Danny’s left, ring finger. He looks up from his lashes as he does so and then winks when Danny’s eyes lock onto his. Danny howls with laughter and reaches back for his ring from Kono. He slides it onto Steve’s left, ring finger, pushing it snug against Steve’s engagement ring. They go back to clasping both their hands in each other’s and turn to Kamekona, gesturing down at their now-ringed hands.

“We good now?” Kamekona asks. They nod. “Alright. _Now_ by the power vested in me, I pronounce you husbands. Or spouses if you like that gender nonspecific language. You may kiss your spouse.” He snaps the book, purely for show, shut with a thud and takes a step back and bows his head.

“Thank god,” Steve says. “You look so good with your shirt unbuttoned a bit at the front, and your sexy Chewbacca chest hair, and-”

“Steve, for once in your life, just don’t,” Danny says, then grabs him by the lapels and yanks him down to face height for a kiss. Steve smiles into it and adjusts them as everyone cheers. Grace, Chin, and Kono seems to be the loudest, with Kamekona clapping like thunder beside them. But in that moment, it feels like it’s just them, with no one else around. They press their foreheads together as people throw flower petals and rice, blow bubbles and kisses. Later, they’ll step away from their little reception to just breathe and take it all in alone in the quiet of the house that will be empty of Doris, finally.

“This is perfect,” Steve murmurs, Danny the only one who can hear him. “You’re perfect.”

“Right back at ya,” Danny says, kissing him again.

* * *

That night, Grace and Kalani are knocked out cold on the couch in the living room. Steve had pulled out the futon from the couch, so they could watch TV until the wee hours of the night, and they had fallen asleep. He had made sure to call Kalani’s parents after they had left the wedding reception to tell them thank you and that Kalani was doing fine. He had also called Rachel and thanked her for the gift she had sent, and to tell her that Grace was doing alright as well. They hadn’t had a wedding shower, so anyone who wanted to bring a gift had done so today and left it in the dining room. There are boxes and bags of who knows what stacked around like a tripping hazard. They hadn’t had a registry since they’d been cohabitating for years, and they aren’t going on any extravagant honeymoon since they have a newborn in the house. They’ll take a weekend to one of the smaller islands soon, just a day or two for the two of them in which they’ll leave Charlie with Kono and Chin. That’s all they can currently stand to do and neither one of them minds.

Speaking of, the cousins had been so emotional. Chin had cried and told them Malia would have been so happy for them. Kono had dragged Adam over to awkwardly pay his respects, and Danny and Steve had dragged him into hugs. It had felt like a turning point in their relationship with him when Adam had relaxed into it and hugged back with honest vigor.

“Congratulations,” he had said sincerely. “From the bottom of my heart. I wish you two the utmost happiness.” It had meant everything to them, and to him as well, that they had accepted him.

Joe had been a mess as well, with Mary hanging off of him, a bit tipsy, but happy. There had been hugs and tears and laughter. Danny parents had been there, as well as his sisters. Danny had gone off to answer a call, and when he got back, his eyes were red, but he was smiling. Steve had murmured _Matty?_ and Danny had nodded, _yes_. For now, it was enough.

Catharine and Lori had both made it over to the island for the event and had spent _much_ time playing catchup. Danny had nodded over to where the two women were murmuring in the corner of their backyard by the firepit. Lori had a glass of wine while Catharine had a bottle of beer, and both had been having a wonderful time. Danny had wiggled his eyebrows.

“Leave them alone,” Steve had laughed. But some part of him wondered and wished the betas the best.

Max had brought his lady friend, Sabrina, as his plus-one, and she was an absolute delight to have. Both had danced the night away before piling into Max’s bright, canary yellow Camaro and speeding off into the sunset. Steve wishes them the best.

Now, though, the house is silent. The girls are asleep, sprawled beside each other on the futon, and Charlie has just gone down after a feeding from Steve and a nappy change from Danny. It’s 2:47 AM and Danny and Steve are sitting outside, keeping the firepit lit and the baby in a cot right beside them, but far enough from the pit that he won’t get too warm.

They’re going over the night, smiles stuck on their faces, with Danny curled up on Steve’s lap in one of the bigger, fluffier chairs they have out back. Each has a beer in hand, and they clink them together before taking another sip.

“So, husband,” Danny says, pressing beer-wet kisses to Steve’s face and neck. “How are you doing?”

“Well, husband,” Steve responds with a laugh. “I’m doing absolutely divine.” He kisses Danny back. “Honestly, though, this has been one of the best days of my life, Danno.”

“Oh yeah?” Danny says. “How many of those do you got?”

“A few,” Steve admits. “There’s tonight, obviously. Oh, and the day you proposed, but that’s like, a half day and doubles with finding out about Charlie. The day you asked to move in with me is one of them, _and_ when Grace started calling me Papa. Obviously Charlie being born, you know, it was a wreck, but it was the best wreck.”

“That’s…. that’s a lot. But most of those are the same for me, plus I gotta throw in finding out about Grace and the day she was born,” Danny says.

“I got one more,” Steve says. His smile is softer.

“Oh yeah, what?” Danny asks.

“It might be the actual _best day of my life_ ,” Steve warns. “But I only realized this in retrospect, so give me a little credit.”

“Okay, okay, what day was it?” Danny says. He pokes Steve’s belly. “Tell me.”

“The best day of my life was the day I met you,” Steve admits, voice soft. “And I didn’t even know it.”

“You sap,” Danny whispers, but his voice is hoarse, and he can barely speak through the emotion.

“Yeah,” Steve continues, stroking a finger down the side of Danny’s face. “That day was a mess, it was, you were right about that earlier. But.” He shakes his head and laughs, threading their fingers together and pressing their clasped hands over his heart. “Look at us now. All those issues, those problems. But here we are at the end.”

“Yeah, babe, here we are,” Danny says, laying his head on Steve’s shoulder.

“And Danny?” Steve says. “It’s _beautiful_.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> * The korean western comedy film that I just sorta leave around in here exists. It's called 'The Good, The Bad, and The Weird', and, you guessed it, it's a spoof of 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly'. But better. So much better. Honestly, don't watch the original Clint Eastwood one, just watch this one and be prepared to laugh and cringe and cry, and also don't take it too seriously.
> 
> I don't know if people can tell, but I am a fan of Danny and Kono being bros, and of Steve and Chin doing the same. That group's friendship fuels my soul. Also, I have nothing against Rachel, but... damn, why'd she have to do Danny like that? Like, whoa. She really crossed that line, but whatever. I still think she's a good mom and I guess she thought she knew what was best for her kids at the time, but yeah. And Stan is... Stan is so awkward. But I believe he means well and Danny is just a bitter, little man whom I love. 
> 
> Also, apologies if the timeline seems a bit weird and shit, I really tried and I'm rewatching everything so. This is the murky space between seasons 4 and 5 or _something_. Whatever. Also, yeah I just... me and Doris have a mixed relationship and Joe is still on my good side because he does really try with Steve, even when he lies and shit. I dunno. He needed someone, in my opinion and Doris got to watch, at least, so... 
> 
> Okay, I dunno. I hope people enjoyed.


End file.
